Son's Gonna Rise
by FamousImmortal
Summary: Ben Braeden is a sophmore at Cicreo High School, when it suddenly becomes the hunting grounds of a trickster.
1. Prologue

"Livin' easy, livin' free… hhmmm hhmmm hhmmm… goin' down for d'e time… yer friends are gonna' be d'ere too… Ye're on the highway to hell… hiiiigghhwaaaay to hell…." The wrinkled, old janitor Jonesy Mills shuffled around the empty school's football court. He was completely consumed in his own thoughts.

"Ye're all gonna fry tonight ya little rodents. An' ye're all goin' straight back where ya belong."

The dark night swallowed the old man and hid him from prying eyes. Over a couple of weeks the local high school had gotten an increasingly alarming amount of moles in the football court. A couple of crashes in the football team so far, but nothing severe. Secretly the janitor thought this was a sign from a higher power to just cut the school football team.

"If they can't run without trippin' over their own feet they shouldn't be runnin' at all…"

But seeing as the football team brought in most of the money the school had, they couldn't afford to just cut it entirely. So because the school would rather spend money on overtime for the school janitor rather than a certified exterminator, the principal had decided to enlist the help of the slightly sadistic and less than lucid janitor. Jonesy was not a well liked man. He wasn't hated either, just a little feared. The kids all feared him. There were only a few who even dared to say hello when they passed him in the crowded halls. Some boy and his friend.

"What is the name of that boy…? Ahhrr screw it!" Unfortunately Jonesy was getting older. He forgot things.

The janitor was currently walking around the section of the football court riddled with molehills and plunging down iron rods. He then connected the iron rods to each other with metal wires. Raw steel wires that looked like something from a bad Frankenstein movie. If anyone would have been there that night they could have stopped the old man from ever connecting the wires to the generator resting beside the bleachers. The sickly yellow overhead lights illuminated the front part of the court and shone down on the lone figure traipsing around the court lost in his mind.

When the last wire had been placed Jonesy was about to turn on the "on" button. The more or less homemade generator hummed in expectation to be switched on when he heard a noise. It sounded like chirping. Or tiny giggles.

He turned and squinted into the dark. He then took off his glasses; _'cause them aint' never improved anythin' anyway._ As he squinted into the dark he suddenly saw the furry, little rodent-devils popping their heads above the ground.

"What the hell…?" He pushed the worn ball cap of his head and turned to flick on the rest of the overhead lights. He heard a click and the hum of the energy saving light bulbs firing up. A half second later the court was bathed in bright, yellow lights. Then he saw them. Right there in the far corner of the field stood a dozen or so moles. They didn't seem to be bothered by the lights, but just continued to sniff the air like they were looking for something. He could hear their loud pitched squeals from across the court and matched them with a steady stream of profanities as he started walking towards them, shovel in hand.

"Those damn rodents! I'm gonna' make 'em wish they were never ripped from their momma's womb!" His angry, hissing curses covered the sound of squeaks behind him.

He reached the multiple molehills and started chopping away with the shovel. Angry curses flowing freely as he chopped away at the ground. He stumbled around among the iron poles desperate to get the pesky critters and barely missed the sounds behind him. He turned in time to see something he would never have believed had he not seen it with his own two eyes.

On top of the home-patched generator sat more than a dozen moles staring right at him. In the fake light from the projectors he saw their eyes light up and reflect with a sickly yellow color. He saw one of them jump down and turn on the generator a second before fear consumed him.

It hummed as it fired up and he saw the electrical sparks jump between the lines leading directly to where he was standing. He looked around in horror as the sparks shot through the raw metal wires and into the iron rods. He saw the wires light up like glow threads in lamps and saw the sparks travel among the rods stuck in the ground when it suddenly occurred to him that he was standing in the middle of it. The amps and volts coursed through heated iron pipes and into the higher layers in the ground and into the booted feet of Jonesy Mills as he watched in horror.

This was how he would forever be remembered by the ignorant kids at this damn school. The scary janitor that was stupid enough to electrocute himself.

"Sonofa-"

All noise stopped as the electricity paralyzed every muscle in his body. His limbs stiffened and shook. His heart rattled in his chest and his diaphragm stopped pumping air into his lounges.

and then he was gone.


	2. Sad, sad news

The door rocked in its frames as a forceful knock awoke the man sleeping in the dimly lit room.

"Ben! Wake up honey!" Lisa Braeden yelled from behind Ben's bedroom door.

"Ten more ten minutes, mom!" He grunted sleepily and rolled to the other side.

"No, not in ten minutes! Now!!"

"How about in five minutes?" He knew the battle was lost before he even heard his mother's answer.

Her face peeked into his room wrinkled in a frown. "No!! Not 'how about in five minutes', how about right now?" She picked up a more or less clean shirt from the floor and flung it at her dormant son.

"Fine....alright....jus' please go way." Ben grumbled while trying to succeed the task of getting up. _Unfortunately_, he succeeded. It took him about fifteen minutes to get ready and wolf down his breakfast. He made it out the door ten minutes before school started. The school bus stopped two houses down from his, like it always did. And his mind wandered to that gorgeous '63 Mustang he saw in the paper, like it always did when he thought of taking public transport. _Please don't let my day suck!_ He thought to himself as he kicked a rock onto the road.

At school his best friend ran up to him with a big smile on his face, but Ben barely noticed. "Ben!"

Ben kept his eyes glued to the ground as he walked.

"Ben! Dude!" His head shot up as Keola slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"What! What?" Ben said with a look of annoyance. _God not now, Keola... _

"Dude! Do I have news for you! Did you hear that the Janitor died last night?" His face was set in a disbelieving grin.

"Jonesy? Really…? How...?" Ben felt his heart drop a little. He barely knew the man, but he saw something in him that no one else could. The guy was weird, but he was a good man.

"No one knows. The football coach jus went out there and found him dead on the field.....!"

"What do you mean 'no one knows'? Someone has to know?"

"No! I heard someone say that Tracy Bingham saw him when they pulled the guy into the emergency van, and she heard that the paramedics had never seen anything like it. I mean, even the cops seemed freaked out."

"Maybe he had a heart attack...?" Ben pondered more to himself than as an answer.

"They said that there was noooo heart problems so how could he of had a heart attack?" Keola seemed almost giddy about the whole thing.

"Why are you so riled up about this? A guy died, Keo."

He deflated a little and looked down in embarrassment. "I-I know, but… ya know… I never really knew the guy…"

Ben nodded and shrugged to avoid the uncomfortable moment. "Never mind." But the damage had already been done and Keola wouldn't let the moment drop as easy as that.

"Naw, naw I shouldn't have said anything. I knew you liked the guy."

"Said it's fine, dude. Jus' forget it." They walked to class in silence. Ben was still too consumed by his own mind to notice that the lesson had

begun. "Maybe it was a ghost...." Ben said in a quite voice in the middle of class. He never noticed the look Keola gave him and didn't learn a whole lot from that particular class.

The lesson ended and the day passed as if he was in a haze. School didn't normally take too much concentration, but this day it seemed even more tedious than others.

The second last class came and went and Ben found himself in font of the lockers. He sighed and opened the lock to his crappy locker. The thought of the dead janitor dying mysteriously suddenly invaded his mind. Maybe it was a ghost. He hoped not.

Since the changelings he, Keola, and Kate have begun to notice more of the supernatural world. And he did not like it. Everything seemed darker and scarier and a part of him was almost scared. Whenever he thought about those things he always thought about the two heroes who had rescued them. About the men who had been there when all others had failed. When he was younger he would spend hours talking about them until his mother had asked him to change the subject. But as many times as he tried to change the subject he could never forget them.

x8x8x8x8x8x8x

"Hey Dean? Why are you taking the wrong way back to Bobby's?" Dean glanced over at his brother, but didn't answer. "Why don't we take the same way we took from Bobby's to get back to Bobby's?" Sam was persistent.

"I'm not."

"This isn't the way we came before... so yeah you are. Why?" Sam demanded.

"Cuz I wanna!"

Sam's face tensed and changed to a slightly constipated look of annoyance. "My god Dean. You make everything difficult......you know that? And you......" He huffed. "Impossible!"

"I try to be, Sammy." Dean said mockingly with a smug look on his face.

"Whatever Dean. Just shut up and get us there."

"No why should I?"

"What?" Sam darted disbelieving eyes to his brother.

"We've been cooped up in that smelly guest bedroom of his for weeks now an' I'm in no hurry to get back." Dean tried to hide the smile desperately seeking escape. _God he is easy to bait sometimes...._

"Well I promised Bobby we would hurry back to help with the case he's on."

"He can handle himself." Dean turned the music up a notch and started singing along to Nirvana as they blasted from the local radio station.

"Could you knock it off?"

"Why?"

"Because it's annoying.....you...you....jerk...!"

Dean frowned and turned the radio of. "Whatever......you...dumb bitch..." Sam huffed and looked pointedly out the window at the world rolling by.


	3. Seven Years Gone

The long way back to Bobby's eventually brought them there. And despite Sam's endless bitching Dean managed not to slap him and dump him on the road. Even after almost eight years on the road his kid brother still managed to push all the right buttons. Their old friend had given up on actively hunting. Once in a while he could still be found in a cemetery at night digging up some spook's grave, but the active demon and monster hunting had slowly given way to a more research minded Bobby Singer. Sam and Dean had never really felt comfortable anywhere but at their old friend's house. Dean still felt the road pulling in him after too much time spent in one place, but the restlessness in him had also given way to something else. He longed for a real home. He loved Sam and Bobby who was like family, but he longed for something more. Something his own. Someone to pass what he knew on to. An heir. Someone other than Sam.

Bobby had attacked them with news of a new hunt the second they stepped through the door. And had then proceeded to grill them about taking so long to get back from their last hunt. That night was spent perusing through old books and fresh news rapports revolving anything supernatural. The dim light from the fireplace illuminated the room and bathed the three men in a soft glow. Across from Dean sat Sam. _He's beginning to look more and more like dad_. Dean thought with a shadow of melancholy hovering in his mind.

He was slowly beginning to regret never settling down with someone and raising a family. And even more so that Sam hadn't done so either.

x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x

Friday night found Ben in front of his computer. There was a big party tonight, but he didn't feel like celebrating. His thoughts still hovered around Jonesy's strange and untimely death. There were many things in his life Benjamin Braeden took for granted, but death wasn't one of them. It never was.

He had seen too much for a kid his age to ever be normal again. His deep brown eyes told of a boy who had been robbed of his innocence long ago. His friends saw it too. Most kids at school either looked up to him or avoided him completely. They saw something in him they didn't understand. Only the few kids who remembered having been locked in those cages and seeing the changelings burning could look at him like a friend.

Suddenly his e-mail inbox blinked as a new message popped up.

From Kate.

"_Hey, found an article about Jonesy. Thought you might want to see it._

_Glad to see I'm not the only one who doesn't think that Ryan Humphrey's parties are key events in your social lives. XD"_

Ben couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. Trust Kate to only do what she wanted with no regards to what others thought. He grinned and sent back a short reply after reading through the article about Jonesy. It wasn't much more than a sensational driven obituary. Most of the stuff written about him was either a direct lie or crazy speculations about his supposed schizophrenia and how he deliberately electrocuted himself. Ben huffed and pushed away from the computer.

He knew something was wrong. He just knew it.

x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x

In the living room sat Lisa Braeden consumed by her own worries. Her world had done a complete 180 since the brothers' visit all those years ago. Since then Lisa had talked to Dean Winchester a couple of times, but had never really kept in contact. Now she sat in the living room with her cell phone in front of her. Her mind was a flurry of conflicting thoughts. She didn't really want the brothers here because that could only mean one thing. Trouble. She had called them a couple of times over the last years whenever she had concerns. _Whenever I think I see a ghost_, more accurately. Ever since their visit she had been more attentive to things around her. Partly for her own sake and for her son. She vowed that she would never let anything like what happened with the changelings happen to him again. And if she ever caught wind of anything potentially threatening she promised herself that she would swallow her own guilt and call Dean. The death at Ben's school had her more than a little concerned. She had noticed the somber mood her son had been in all week since the news of Jonsey's death. She knew they knew each other. Ben always liked the guy. Her son had always been a good judge of character. He didn't take bullshit and he wasn't afraid to be himself. Unlike so many teenagers she thought with a bittersweet smile.

It still happened every now and then that she regretted never telling him the truth. He was her son after all. He deserved to know.

But still, she was convinced that she had made the right choice back then.

And the choice she was about to make now wasn't going to easy to live with either, but she knew something was wrong. She just felt it.

x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x

Familiar tones from Deep Purple rang out in the silent room. The two brothers slept in blissful ignorance until the familiar song shook Dean from his slumber. Still lost in the remnants of a good dream he couldn't help the relaxed smile covering his face. His hair stuck out from his head like a halo as he grabbed the phone before his brother awoke. Sam hadn't been sleeping well the last couple of weeks. Dean noticed nightmares, but Sam being Sam refused to talk about them. Dean decided that it was better to play hard to get and let Sam come to him when he was ready to talk.

"Hello?" He said into the reciever as he ran a hand over his face?

"_Were you sleeping?_" Lisa Braeden's clear voice called out.

"Lisa?"

"_Well who did you think it was?_"

"Don't know…" Dean shrugged uncomfortably and then thought better about it and smiled. "Were your ears just ringing?"

"_What?_"

"I was just in the middle of the best dream. Lets see… You were there along with Pamela Anderson-"

"_Dean._"

"Yeah?"

"_Please be serious._"

"Why does everybody keep telling me that?" He wondered as he absently scrubbed his head and got to his feet. He scoured the room with a focused gaze. _There's gotta be coffee somewhere_.

"_I have to ask you a favor._"

He stilled and listened a little more intently as he noticed a slight tremor in her voice. "What is it?"

He heard her take a deep breath. "_Something's happening at Ben's school._"

"What?"

"_I don't know, but it just feels….weird._"

"You think something's wrong?" He had barely kept in contact with Lisa and even less with her son, but he knew worry when he heard it. And he knew better than to pass it off as paranoia.

"_The janitor at Ben's school died about a week ago and something just feels…wrong._"

"Yeah… OK. You want me and Sam to stop by?" His heart jumped once in his chest at the thought of seeing her and her son again.

"_No!_" She laughed at the slightly frantic decline."_No. That's fine. I would actually prefer if Ben didn't know you were here._"

Dean felt his heart drop in his chest. He frowned and held back the argument that he kinda' sorta'...ok really missed her and Ben. "Alright." He swallowed to get rid of the lump in his throat. "We can be there in a day or so."

"_Great._"

Dean nodded even though he knew the gesture was useless.

"_Dean, I… I'm sorry. It's just easier-_"

"Don't say another word. It's fine. I get it. We'll do some research and get in, do the job and get out."

He heard her sigh in relief across the line. "_That would be really great, thanks. I owe you one._"

"Well we take visa and MasterCard-" Dean added with a grin.

"_Oh. Of course! Uhh… If you want to get paid we can arrange somethin-_"

"Lisa. Lisa. It was a joke." He huffed out and offered a laugh to lighten the mood.

"_Oh… right._" He heard her huff back. The uncomfortable since stretched and made Dean fidgety. "_So uhh…-_"

"Yeah. I'm gonna…. go." Dean waved his arm even though he knew perfectly well she couldn't see.

"_Right…-_"

"We'll call you when the job's done."

"_Sure._"

"Great."

"_Great…._"

He sighed and frowned in thought of what to say. He absently picked at the tear in the wallpaper next to the front door.

"_So uhh… bye._"

He jumped. "Oh yeah. Bye." He hung up before another word was uttered and released a big sigh.

"I always figured goodbyes with the phone-sex ladies were awkward, but I never thought they were _that_ bad." Sam laughed from the bed.

"Bite me, Barbie." Dean bit back as he stomped to the bathroom for some privacy.

The door slammed and left Sam to his own. "Who was it?" He yelled through the closed door.

"Lisa." Came the muffled reply from behind the door. Sam frowned in confusion.

"Lisa as in Lisa Braeden?" He sounded disbelieving.

The sound of water running emanated from the bathroom. "Yeah." Dean yelled back.

"Huh. What did she want?"

The water turned of and Dean stomped back out. "She's concerned about a death a Ben's school. Asked us to check it out." Dean shrugged. _No big deal._

_Yeeeeaaaahhh… keep telling yourself that, big boy_.

"Oh. So are we going to see them?" Sam pretended to watch the TV instead of the close study of his brother. But it didn't really help with Dean's mood that his brother was always so concerned about his love life.

Dean paused in the movement of putting on a tee shirt. His back was turned, but Sam could almost imagine his brother's face falling. "No."

_Why not? _"Did she ask us not to come?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Because I say so, Sammy."

"She did, didn't she?"

"Sam-"

"Unbelievable!"

"Just drop it."

"No!" Sam rushed of the bed and stomped around the room.

Dean sighed and leaned his head back. "Why not?" He whined out.

"She can't just do this to you, Dean."

Dean turned back to stare at his brother. "Uhh yes she can, Sam." He raised an eyebrow.

"You're just gonna accept this?"

"Accept what?" He frowned.

"That she won't even let you see Ben-"

"Ben is _her_ son, not mine. It is perfectly within her power to forbid me to see him." Dean stated as if it didn't bother him one bit. He waved his arms to his sides and stood his ground. Sam lost a little of his fight and hunched back on the bed.

"Yeah… well it sucks." He pouted.

"Since when are you so gung ho about spending time with some kid?"

Sam looked at Dean with his big puppy eyes and Dean could almost feel his composure slipping. "He's not just a kid to either of us, is he?"

Dean cleared his throat uncomfortable with the subject and turned back to picking out some clothes that didn't smell too bad.

Sam sensing his brother's discomfort changed the subject the best he could. "So uhh… when are we leaving?" He deliberately lightened his voice and tried to act casually.

"Ten minutes. So quit wining, get up and get dressed. And for god's sake take a shower 'cause, dude, you reek." Dean accompanied the accusation with a judgmental finger.

"Whatever, jerk!" Sam flung a pillow at his big brother which he expertly dodged.

"Get moving, bitch."

Sam huffed and grinned, but he couldn't quite get past the unfairness of it all. Not that he would ever tell Dean just how much he really regretted that his brother never settled down. Not that he would ever tell Dean how much Sam thought about how much better their lives would be if they had a real home. Not that he ever would….well maybe some day.......


	4. friends oppisit family

A few minutes after Ben was done checking his email, he felt he needed a break to get the thoughts filling his head out. He pulled out his IPod with slow, steady movements. The small white device smiled up at him. Several thousand songs was on it. Ones he had heard since he was little. Ones he had only heard once, but fallen in love with. If he would ever find himself stranded on an Island all alone, all he could imagine taking was this one thing. This small and insignificant machine. It had everything he needed on it. Music that moved him. Music that invigorated him. Music the pass the time and music to fill the dark void. AC/DC's Highway to Hell flashed on the display and he took a second to appreciate the intro. _Now that is a damn good song_, he thought to himself as he laid back down on his bed. He quickly switched away from the song and found another better suited for his mood. Despite his desperate desire to stop the thoughts fluttering in his head, he began to think.

**'_Take a walk, you can hardly breathe the air. Look around, it's a hard life everywhere.'_**

_'_**_People talk, but they never really care. On the street, there's a feeling of despair. But every day, there's a brand new baby born.'_**

_'**And every day, there's the sun to keep you warm. And it's alright. Yeah, it's alright'**_

The song triggered thoughts he didn't know he was struggling with. Sometimes Ben thought to hard on things and sometimes he didn't think at all. Sometimes he just let go and followed his instincts. Reflecting over the habit, he found that the times he followed his instincts was probably the times he was most successful with what he did. The song rambled on softly in has ears and his mind soared further away. Ben was definitely not the kind of person to give up on things he wanted. _Kate_. He really liked her but he never told anyone. Anyone but Keo of course. He didn't really trust anyone but Keo, he thought with deep sadness. His mom would just open her big mouth and tell Kate's mom and he definitely didn't want that. He knew the people he surrounded himself with. He knew his friends. His family. His mother was pretty much the only family he had and he didn't trust her as much as he did some friend?

_'_**_Every night, on the streets of Hollywood. Pretty girls want to give you something good.'_**

**'_Love for sale, it's a lonely town at night. Therapy for a heart misunderstood.'_**

**'**_**But look around, there's a flower on every street. And look around, and it's growing at your feet. And everyday, you can hear me say….'**_

He sometimes wished he could just tell Kate. Tell her about how he felt about her without stuttering and making a fool of himself. He also sometimes wondered what Kate would say or think of him if he told her he liked her. It was odd, really. Kate was the only girl he had ever really liked. There had been plenty of dates. Girls who were fun to hang out with, but none of them right. He knew who the right one was, but couldn't find the courage to just tell her. He wished he could runaway with her. Take them both someplace far away. Just get in a car and drive. His rational mind knew that was just a fantasy. All though… a part of him remembered two people he had once met. _Dean and Sam_…. They had lived like that. Lived on the road. Always moving, never standing still. No routines, no rules to hold them back. They were free. But he knew that was just a really dumb fantasy.

_'**I'm alive. I wanna take all that life has got to give.'**_

**'_All I need is someone to share it with. I got love and love is all I really need to live.'_**

**'_I'm alive I'm alive!'_**

His mind took him back. Back to when things were simpler. He remembered all the times he got picked on. Kate had always been there for him. She had always known that he would do the same for her too. _In a heartbeat_.

Keo had always insisted that the two friends were soul mates. Especially after the kidnapping where the three friends had become so much closer than they ever were before. Keo still insisted that Ben and Kate were meant for each other. Ben knew Keo wanted to tell her that Ben liked her. The very thought of her knowing gave Ben chills up and down his body. Ben would have to slap him around a little bit if that ever slipped out. The thought of Ben and Keo fighting caused a flashing smile to appear on his face for a second. Ben slapping Keo upside the head.

_'**And every day, there's a brand new baby born. In every way, there's enough to keep you warm.'**_

_'**And it's okay. And I'm glad to say, I'm alive. And I don't care much for words of doom.'**_

_'**If it's love you got, well I got the room. It's a simple thing that came to me when I found you.'**_

His mind wandered back to the previous thought; if Kate liked him too. Every cell in his body hoped she did. Kate was pretty, smart, funny and popular. Everybody knew and loved her and how could Ben blame them. She was special. A hundred times better than Ben. He didn't deserve her, he knew. But they had something together. Something no one could duplicate or imitate. He knew her essence. Knew her very soul, like they had spent a lifetime together. The realistic part of his brain knew there was no way the two could get together. No one really knew who he was and everyone knew her. It wouldn't fit. But the harsh reality was washed away at the mere thought of burying his fingers in her soft, dark hair. His lips gently caressing hers. Teasing kisses and shared looks. _If I'm nobody it shouldn't matter to anyone that she's going out with me?... Right?_

His idealistic and obscure thoughts were brutally interrupted when his cell phone rang. The song _Paper Planes_ by M.I.A filled the room and drowned out his IPod. He didn't even know why he had that stupid song for a ringtone. What was so amazing about it when all the girl sang was _'all I wanna do is BANG! BANG! BANG!_'.

But then he remembered that Keola picked it out. _And that's why you never let him pick out your ringtones EVER!!!_ He picked up his Envy2 phone and looked at the caller ID with a light huff. It was Keo.

"Hey Keo…what's up…?" He said sighing tiredly.

"_Hey dude. Are you going to that party tonight?_" Keo asked in a happy voice.

Ben sighed again and punched his pillow into a more comfortable position. "I don't know man…I'm kind of tired." He lied.

"_Aww come on, Ben. Let's go! Kate's gonna be there!_" He said hoping that Ben would say yes.

Ben could easily hear the luring sing-song tone in his voice and couldn't help the little smile at his friend always trying to fix him and Kate up. "Yes Keo, I know." Be answered in a smart-alecky voice. "But what does that have to do with anything?" He asked, trying to fake indifference. Leave it up to Keo to bring something like that up. Ben already knew all his tricks. He always used the excuse 'Kate will be there' when he wanted Ben to go somewhere with him, and Ben really wished he didn't but somehow he always fell for it.

"_I don't know…. Maybe you two can talk or dance together or something. I mean your gonna have to admit to her someday. You can't keep it in forever and, dude… neither can I_."

Ben sighed again and started picking at a loose thread in his pillow. "I know I can't Keo. And I know you definitely can't either." Ben said, vaguely hoping that Keo would get mad and hang up so he wouldn't have to go. He knew it wouldn't work because it took A LOT to get Keo mad.

"_Dude come on. Stop tryin to get me mad so you don't have to go_." A brief second of silence filled the line and when Keo spoke up again, Ben could practically see the grin on his face through the wire. "_I'm actually just on my way to see you anyway. Be there in a few_."

Ben frowned in regret. "What? Keo…" He huffed. "Come on….really??" Once again he was dragged into something he didn't really want to do. And once again he really didn't like it. But couldn't say no to Keo once he showed up at Ben's front door. The guy had a look he could give you. That one look was one he used constantly when he needed to talk his friends into doing something.

Ben sighed and surrendered saying _bye_ and _see you in a sec_. he hung up the phone and pulled himself out of bed. He dragged his feet downstairs and saw his mom on the couch with book. He smiled at the sight of her frown as she completely immersed herself in the novel and embrace whatever fantasy world it had to offer. He studied her for a second and wondered what is so amazing about books?

"Mom, I'm going out" He said in a complete lacklustre tone.

Lisa's eyes snapped away from the pages of the book study Ben. He was getting so tall. "With whom and where?" She eyed her son cautiously.

"To this party with Keola." Ben said hoping she wouldn't let him go.

She looked at him for another second and then turned back to the book. "Alright have fun." Apparently it was a really good book.

Ben sighed in disappointment. He was kind of hoping his mom wouldn't let him go but that didn't happen.

As Ben walked out the door, bright head lights of an 81 Honda Civic flashed his eyes blinding him for a split second. It was Keo. _Who else?_

Keola watched his friend jog over to the passenger side of the car, but was also lost in his own thoughts. He often wondered about Ben. There was something about his friend that was a mystery. But Ben was still, and would always be, his best friend. He felt kinda' bad for him. For the life he'd been dealt.

Ben opened the door to Keo's Honda and accidentally slammed the door.

"Hey!" Keo snapped.

"What?" Ben barked startled.

"This is an 81 Honda! How dare you!" He said offensively.

Ben rolled his eyes at his friend. "No, this is a banged up Civic…and a crappy one at that."

"Whatever dude. You're just jealous that I have the best car in the world." Keo smiled and petted the dash. "It all about the love, man. If you love it, it will last forever."

"I have absolutely no comment on what you just said." Ben said giving Keo his infamous _bite me_ look.

"Oh I know that look." He eyed Ben and pointed an accusing finger. "That's your _I love Kate and Keo more than anything-_look!"

Ben sighed again. "Bite me…" Ben glared daggers at his smiling friend. _God he's an ass sometimes! I know he's doing it on purpose just piss me off_. Keo fired up the car and squealed towards Ryan Humphrey's house.

It seemed forever just to get to this damn party and Ben hated it. The actual amount of time that had passed was probably along the lines of ten minutes. He still hated it. He wondered what would happen when he got there. If Kate was even there? He knew there was a chance Keo was lying to get him to go, but he knew his friend well enough to know he wouldn't deliberately lie about something like that. It was Kate after all. He wondered what he would do if he saw her there. He would ask her to dance of course. Or maybe ask her if she wanted to go somewhere quieter and talk. Both scenarios looked great in his mind, but he had no idea of how to execute them in praxis. With all the thoughts fluttering in his mind, he was too busy to realize that Keola was talking to him.

"Hey, Ben? Did you hear what I said…?"

There was no answer.

"Ben…?"

Still no answer as Ben was completely lost staring out his window with dreams in his head.

"Ben!"

Not even a flicker of acknowledgement.

"BEN!!" Keola shouted starting to get annoyed.

Ben jumped in his seat. "What? What's wrong?" Ben ask completely clueless.

"What's wrong is that my best friend isn't listening to me. I called you like a million times." Keola said, rolling his eyes.

Ben frowned and decided to save grace by simply ignoring the moment of weakness. "Well…? What is it?"

Keo stared at him with a dark and sardonic look. "Were here… dumbass."

Ben frowned again and shrunk out of his seat belt. "Alright... well whatta ya waiting for?" He hurried out of the car, into the dark night. He was assaulted by a wall of music streaming from the house.

Ben and Keo walked together towards the house with slow steps. The drive way was ridiculously large. "I think it's time for you to tell Katie how you feel about her…" Keola said pensively like he had pondered the conundrum for years.

Ben stopped in surprise. "Where in the hell did you get the idea that I'm going to tell Kate anything?" Ben asked in a sharp voice.

Keo stumbled over how to respond. "Well… I'm… I don't know, man…! Why don't you just tell her? An' maybe…. ask her out?" He asked tentatively.

Ben huffed in rising frustration. "I'm not ready to tell her yet that's why…" Ben said and stomped towards the house. He couldn't help but think the night would have been better had it just been left run its course without Ben going looking for trouble. Parties were never fun. Too many people and bad music. _A smart man would have just decided to ignore Keo, but nooooo. I have to go and answer the phone! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!_ He didn't look back as he pushed the front door open and entered the house.

Keo followed still ready to fight for what he thought was right. "You can't keep it in forever, Ben. You need to tell her someday!" Their shouts were drowned out by the pounding music and their angry stances were cloaked by the teens moving around the house in their own drunken hazes. Only a few people noticed Keo shouting and turned to look at him like he was insane.

"I don't really give a fuck, Keo." Ben said eerily calm. "I'm going to find Kate. See you around." He turned and walked away without looking back. As he walked through the house, he recognized few people he knew and a lot of strangers he didn't.

Lil' Wayne's _Lollipop_ blasted from the stereo and four feet tall speakers. A foul smell reached his nose and made him frown. _Great….vomit… and it's only nine pm_.This was one of the reasons why he just didn't _do_ parties. His dark thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone calling his name through the loud and annoying music.

"Ben? Ben!" He looked around the room for the voice that was calling him. A face came into view and he immediately recognized the sweet honey voice. _Kate…_

SnSnSnSnSnSnSn

Sam sat patiently in the car. His brother's baby. He was waiting for Dean to hurry up and return to the car. Dean had drunken almost a gallon of caffeine and suddenly "out of nowhere" had to pee. So now Dean was in the bathroom, busy relieving himself. His big bother always took too long in the bathroom, but Dean insisted that he needed to work on his perfection. _What perfection?_ Sam thought dryly. He didn't even hear his brother return until the familiar screech from the car door shook Sam from his thoughts. They were heading to Cicero and about an hour or two away. Dean was getting quieter the closer they got to Lisa, but Sam didn't want to say anything. His brother was struggling enough. The car pulled away from the gas station and back on the dark highway.

SnSnSnSnSnSnSnSn

Ben froze when Kate came into view. His anger with Keo wasn't forgotten, but pushed aside at the sight of her round, blue eyes. _Keo can be such an ass sometimes and he does it on purpose just piss me off_. The final annoying thought tickled his brain. He made a mental note to go find his friend and apologize for acting up. But later. Now all he had to focus on was getting through a normal conversation with Kate.

SnSnSnSnSnSnSn

"_Sam… Sam…? Sammy_? Samantha…? HEY GEEKBOY!" Dean yelled tired of Sam of ignoring him.

Sam flinched as his brother shocked him out his bleak thoughts. "What?!" Sam barked back a little shocked.

"I'm bored. Entertain me." Dean glanced over expectantly. When Sam did nothing but stare back Dean shrugged. "Plus you were ignoring me."

Sam sighed softly. "I wasn't ignoring you, Dean. I was just thinking."

"Well stop thinking, and listen to me a sec…." Dean left the sentence hanging in the air.

"What?" Sam prompted.

"What?"

"You wanted me to listen to you?" Sam guided.

Dean frowned and glanced over at his brother. Then his face smoother out as curiosity took over. "What were you thinking about? A girl?" Dean asked with a smirk on his face.

"No… About how self-centred you are actually." Sam smirked back.

"I'm not self-centred." Dean blanched and shied away with a disbelieving look.

Sam huffed stiffly. "Oh really? Then what's this?" Sam asked holding up his cell phone.

Dean huffed. "Yes, Sam. Your phone will surely prove your point." Dean glanced over with scepticism in his eyes. "Sometimes I think you were adopted."

Sam smiled. "Bite me." He pressed a few buttons and played a voice recording left by Dean. It started innocently enough with Dean talking softly to himself in, what Sam guessed, was in one of the hundreds bathrooms they had frequented over the years. The recording soon turned into a glorification of how Dean was the sexiest man on earth. His brother's deep voice was clearly visible through the speakers of the phone. Sam's smiled widened as Dean went completely still.

Dean's face paled and his breath caught in his throat. "How the hell did you get your hands on that?!"

"Oh it's easy to spy on someone as self-centred as you." Sam said with a smile and packed the phone away.

Dean growled and refocused on the road in front of the windshield. "If I ever see that on YouTube you're dead." He hissed.

Sam laughed at the look on his brother's face. The dark and serious look which made him clamp up after only a few seconds. That look reminded Sam so much of their father. Of how serious he had always been. Sam had only seen him smile a handful of times. Only on pictures did he look truly happy. Sam remembered a picture of Dean and his dad taken when Dean was just three and Mary was still alive. He remembered how happy his father looked in that picture. How happy Dean looked and he found himself wishing his dad had laughed more in his life before he died. He wished Dean would laugh more while he was still alive. Not that Sam expected either of them to drop in the next few minutes, but sometimes time just melted away. Sometimes the job just came too close to comfort. Those moments of sheer panic and fear over his brother's life were what had aged Sam.

Sam then looked at Dean deep in thought. Dean should have a family. His brother should be living the life Sam knew he wanted deep down. He felt so bad for Dean because he didn't have someone who truly loved him. Neither of the two brothers did, but no one had ever been more deserving than Dean. He wanted Dean to have a real family and to know how it felt to be a father. But Dean insisted he didn't want that. Dean kept his game face on and denied having dreams of family and safety.

But his brother knew he did. Sam's entire being was filled with the overwhelming confidence that what Dean wanted most of all was to love and be loved.


	5. Bury your friends and kiss you fears 1

"Kate…!" Ben frowned at the way his voice squeaked her name.

She just smiled back at him in the most radiant way he had ever seen. "Hi, Ben." She came over and gave him a quick hug and pulled back. The only thing that registered in his brain was the sweet smell of her perfume and her slender arms gripping around his shoulders.

"You're here?" Ben asked a little surprised considering the mail she had sent him earlier.

"Yeah. Bethany lured me here with the promise of a fun time." She looked around at the people dancing and over at Bethany currently trying to suck some guy's tonsils out with her mouth.

Ben frowned. "Well at least she's having fun?" He offered with a tentative smile.

She returned it with a dazzling one of her own. She stared at him for a second whilst he pretended not to notice. "You wanna go somewhere more private?"

His eyes snapped to hers in a second and stared. "W-What?"

"To talk?" She seemed not to notice his surprise caused by the possible implications of her question.

He shook it off and smiled. "Yeah, sure."

They wormed through the dense crowd and onto the back yard porch. The only light there was the bright yellow squares reaching out in the darkness from the living room. Otherwise the people just had the pale moon and the foggy stars to keep them company. Drunken and dazed teenagers hung around there too. Including one Ben hadn't expected to see. Ryan Humphrey was in a group talking to his moronic friends.

Kate noticed his stare and leaned over. "They're probably discussing the score of tonight's football game."

"There was a game tonight?" Ben asked surprised. Sometimes it amazed him how much he missed simply because he didn't care about the dreary everyday life that all others seemed so hung up about.

Kate huffed a light laugh. "You really should try to take notice once in a while, Braeden." She smiled and ruffled his hair. He just smiled and let her.

Unnoticed to the two teenagers a certain boy at the party had noticed their smiles and sneered as jealousy burned in his gut. Ryan stared at Kate and the Braeden boy hitting on her. Ryan was a big guy. Captain of the football team had a tendency to do that to you. His friends were big guys too. But what Ryan treasured most was his power. His power to get what he wanted. And he wanted Kate.

Ben noticed Ryan staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He ignored it when he started poking his buddies and pointing to Ben. He desperately wanted just a few more minutes alone with Kate before his night was ruined by this huge oaf of a man. Kate said something that he completely missed as all his attention was drawn to Ryan and his buddies moving in.

"Wanna go somewhere else?" Ben asked in a rush. He really didn't need this right now.

Kate frowned at his stressed body language and suddenly noticed Ryan moving over to them. "Oh no. Please don't start anything with him, Ben." She begged. Ben frowned.

"Me? Start something with him?" His incredulous voice asked. "He's the instigator you need to worry about."

"You're always the one who takes the first punch." She said insightfully.

Ben didn't look at her, but had his focus solely on the group moving towards them. "Well I wouldn't if his face didn't have such a friggin big target painted on it." Ben's eyes narrowed when Ryan caught his gaze.

She sighed and looked from one boy to the other. "Let's just go." She pulled Ben's arm and nodded encouragingly to him. He took a second to look into her eyes. The bright blue hues that still shone even in the dim light from inside the house. She was asking him not to fight for her. He nodded once and smiled. Just as he had grabbed her arm and was about to guide them away from the group closing in he felt a sharp tug in the back of his shirt that set him off balance. In his surprise he tightened his grip around Kate and staggered back with her right next to him.

He heard someone behind them yell _"dude they are so drunk!"_ and laugh. Ben staggered and grabbed Kate and righted her with him. He felt anger rising as he turned to face Ryan grinning stupidly at him. He laughed and grinned with his buddies as they all laughed at Ben.

"C'mon, Ben. Let's get outta here." Kate said as she tugged him again.

Ben felt his fingers tingle with energy. He felt adrenalin fill his veins and anger rise to the surface. He had never had anyone to stand up for him. He'd had to be strong. Strong for his mother. For his friends. For Kate. Despite the anger he didn't want to fight tonight and settled for a very judgemental look directed at Ryan. "Yeah, there's nothing worth hanging around for anyway." His voice was slow and calm, but his body held tense.

Kate tugged them both and Ben allowed himself to be guided. As he was about to turn he heard Ryan speak up again and stopped.

"What's the matter, Baby-Braeden? Scared?" His sickening laugh rang out, but he didn't turn.

Instead he looked at Kate. She offered a timid smile which he returned with a brilliant one of his own. "Of a shit-face like you? Never?" His voice was still low. Just low enough that Kate and Ryan would have heard. And no one else.

"What did you say?!" Ryan rushed forward and spun Ben around.

Ben set his jaw and stared at him defiantly.

"What?" Ryan laughed. "You seriously think you're getting out of here alive tonight?" The hollow threat did nothing to dim the defiance in Ben.

"I will unless your fat ass sits on me by accident." Ben tilted his head. He had just opened that big fat mouth of his and was thinking that now might be a good time to stop. _Ahr screw it!_ "You should really post a warning on your back ya know?" Ryan frowned. _His pea-brain probably doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about_. "You know one those tee shirts with writing on them. Something like "Step back! Heavy load" should suit you great." Ben flashed his most adoring smile and Ryan's frown just carved deeper into his forehead.

"What the hell are you trying to say!?" He stepped forward right into Ben's face.

"Think he's saying you're fat." One of his goons stepped in.

Ben glanced at the friend. "Bravo. Give the man a buck and stuff him back in the locker till next time."

Ryan's frown was slowly becoming his entire expression. "Do you ever just talk like normal people, Baby-Braeden?" That turned the frown upside down.

But Ben didn't flinch. "I always talk like normal people so I'm surprised you can't understand what I'm saying?" He tipped his head again and widened his eyes. "Should I talk slower?" He asked with a low and slow voice.

Ryan frowned, but didn't respond.

Ben turned and gently pushed Katy in front of him. "Let's go, Kate."

"Yeah run away. Like your dad did!"

_Ok low blow!_ Ben felt anger rekindle.

"Does the slut of a mother even know who he is by the way?" Ryan laughed along with his friends.

He turned and stared at the group with dark eyes.

"For all we know it could have been anyone." Ryan stepped closer. "Like that bastard Jonesy?" I heard it was the moles that finally got him." Ryan laughed again.

"Stop talking about him." He felt his anger rise, but only slightly. He still had control…. or so he liked to tell himself.

"Or what? You'll hit me?" Ryan shoved him back and smiled. "You'll yell for that little friend of yours and start hitting us?" He lifted his hands and shook theatrically. Then a second passed and he sobered. "Why don't you just take that bitch of a girlfriend with you and get the fuck out of my house? I don't want her anymore…" With that he turned to his friends.

The last thing Ben heard was Kate yelling. "Ben no!"

He felt a wave of anger carry him forward as he crashed into Ryan Humphrey's back and knocked them both to the ground. Ryan yelled out as he hit the wooden porch nose first. Crimson gushed from the broken facial feature along with a flow of choice words. For a split second Ryan's friends didn't know how to react. Ben immediately turned Ryan over and started pounding his fists into his face over and over again. The friends standing behind Ben suddenly spurred into action and all lunged forward and pulled Ben up and away. But they didn't stop. They lifted him and pulled him out onto the back yard lawn. There they dropped him and then the real fun began. First Dave took a swing. Just as Ben jumped to his feet he felt a fist connect with his cheek and snap his head back. He then felt another fist shook up and catch him over the ribs from behind. As the air wheezed out of him his back arched and he realized his mistake. A solid kick in the stomach pushed him back down on the wet grass. He vaguely heard Kate yelling and screaming for them to stop. He then heard the very distinct sound of skin hitting skin and her yells faded. That was when his rage was no longer his to control. He welcomed it with a vicious smile and open arms as his actions became those of a being of anger. Just as another of Ryan's goons stepped up to kick Ben stilled and focused on the motion of the one guy. He goon was swinging from a bad angle and Ben smiled at the damage he was going to cause. As the guy kicked Ben's foot shot out and hit the guy just above the knee. He barely hit with all he had, but it was still enough for him to crumble to the ground in a heap and angry curses and pained yells.

Ben leaped from the ground and punched the first guy he saw in the face. He felt his fist connect with a satisfying crack and smiled again. That was when he saw Kate standing on shaking legs protectively curling her fingers around her cheek. Ben saw red. Ryan was standing a little in front of her with a sour grimace and moving ready to pounce. He friends went down in a flurry of punches and kicks. And just as Ryan stepped forward Ben had dropkicked the lot of them. Just him and Ryan.

He had a second to appreciate the joy of having him all to himself before he rushed forward and caught the quarterback off balance. Ben forcefully shoved him to the ground and smiled as he heard a strangled groan emanate from the bastard who insulted his family and friends. Ben straightened up and bunched his fists and started swinging.

He only got two swings before he felt strong hands grab him gently around his chest and lift him up. He struggled for a second while anger still burned red inside, but quickly settled when a familiar voice called for him to relax.

"Benny. Ben! Calm down, man. C'mon." Keo's soft voice called out. Ryan and his friends were still down and Ben felt the anger leave him like water drying on his skin, leaving him cold. His breath settled as he calmed down and looked around at the damage. A bit away stood Kate staring at him with worried eyes. A couple of her friends had gathered around her and was comforting her and cursing at the jerk Ryan for hitting her like that. These were a different type of popular girls. The elite. Not only socially, but educationally. They knew better than to mingle with dumb jocks and violent freaks like Ben.

Ben's face fell when he noticed the amount of damage done to the other guys. Most of their faces were bruised and bleeding. Some of them were cupping wounded body parts. Ryan was unconscious on his back. "Oh god…" Ben whispered and started shaking.

"C'mon. Let's go." Keo pulled them both away from the mess and around the house instead of through it.

Ben was shaking as Keo put him in the car. He was bleeding from his nose and a small cut above his eyebrow, but didn't seem to notice. After making sure he was strapped in Keo jumped to the other side and got in behind the wheel. Just as he fired up the engine he saw Kate running to catch him.

"Keo wait!" He looked at her with a frown and made as if pulling away. "Keola!?" She stretched out her arms and ran to the driver's window.

He wouldn't look at her. A part of him felt like it was her fault somehow. A big part of him knew it was his fault for ever suggesting they go to this thing. "What?" But he couldn't deal with guilt right now, so he focused on his anger towards the people in that house. Everyone in that damn school.

Her face fell a fraction. "I'm coming with you." She said in her usual confident voice.

"Why don't you go back to your real friends instead of leading him on?" Keo nodded to Ben who was completely unaware of anything around him.

"You're my friends-"

"Oh yeah? I didn't see you stepping in a helping out in there!?" He never noticed the red mark across her face in the dark.

She looked down with tears brimming her eyes, but quickly pulled it together. "I can help now."

"How?" Keo challenged.

She flashed a confident smile despite the tears still in her eyes. "I know how to sow." She nodded to Ben's cuts and back to Keo. "Will you let me in?"

He sighed and waited as she got in the back seat.

On the drive home Ben had slowly become more lucid. The three friends were standing in front of Ben's house staring at the lit living room windows with worried looks.

"She's waiting up." Ben said as he leaned slightly against Keo's shoulder without it looking obvious he saw about to fall on his face.

"And we're never going to get you inside looking like that." Kate said.

"So I'll distract her while you get him inside." Keo said with a nervous smile.

"That's never gonna work, man." Ben said.

"Ye of little faith. Trust me." Keo smiled and looked at Ben.

"You're not gonna set my couch on fire again are you?" Ben asked with fear in his voice.

"One time!" Keo readily defended. "It was an accident. I keep telling you that!"

Ben raised a hand and surrendered. "Whatever you say. Jus' don't do it again." He begged.

Keo huffed, but Kate couldn't help the small smile. She suddenly got an idea. "What if you call her and tell her you're sleeping over at Keo's?"

"And what do we tell my parents?" Keo asked with a little more anger than he really meant to.

"That you're sleeping at Ben's." She said as if it was obvious.

"And where do we actually go?" Ben asked her.

"To my place." She smiled.

"Oh I don't like the sound of this." Keo said.

Ben frowned. "The problem is still there." He pointed to his face.

She shrugged. "My mom is out of town."

Keo darted wide eyes to her. "You might have mentioned that _before_ I spent like a gallon of gas getting us here!"

"I'll pay for the gas if you want me to-"

"Damn right I do!"

"She's not gonna pay for gas you moron." Ben interrupted and silenced the bickering.

Keo sulked as they decided on the plan of action.

The three friends returned to Kate's empty house. The small rust-spotted Civic looked ridiculous in front of the large upper/middle class pastel colored home. Ben had never been to her house before. About a month after the incident when he was following his eighth birthday the parents and children involved had formed a group. They would get together once a week. The children in one room, the adults in the other. Then once a month the two groups would meet up and talk together. Parents and adults in one room. It had always been held at private homes. The families involved had taken turns to host the meetings. Ben couldn't remember there ever being a meeting in Kate's mom's home. He had certainly never been to one. The meetings were still held, but it had been ages since Ben had attended one. He still had nightmares despite the damn meetings. They always started as good dreams of a strong man picking him up and hugging him. He smelled the worn leather even in his dreams. They always turned to nightmares when the monsters crept back into his room and grabbed him from his bed. Those twisted faces. Hollow eyes and rows of teeth designed for nothing else than to tear into skin. The nightmares always ended with the strong arms releasing him and leaving. He glanced over at Kate walking to the door with her key.

"Do you still go to the meetings?" He asked out of the blue.

She turned and stared at him, the key all but forgotten. She knew what he meant. "No… You?"

He shook his head.

"I discovered they really didn't help any more." She looked down. "I still had nightmares with or without the talks."

Keo shrunk away and tried to blend in with the night. He felt like such a third wheel right now.

"Yeah me too." Ben looked completely lost in her.

Keo decided he had waited long enough. He was tired and cold and really needed to sit pee. "Can we possibly continue this inside?" He was shuffling his feet around and jumping slightly. "Or do you want my bladder to explode in your driveway?"

Kate smiled and unlocked the door. Ben stood for a second and watched them go inside. He felt more connected to her than never before and a smile silently made its way to his face as he followed them in and closed the door behind him.

They made their way up to Kate's bedroom. She pointed for Ben to sit on the bed and for Keo to have a seat on a small chair next to it. It was like any other girl's bedroom. Ben didn't really know what he had expected. Fluffy pillows and a bunch of band posters. One he didn't expect to see was one of Aerosmith adorning the empty space directly over her bed.

"Nice." He said with a smile. "Aerosmith is cool." His voice was low and calm trying not to sound too over exited.

"Are you kidding me? They rule." She said as she sat down with a little first aide box next to him.

"They're ok. AC/DC…" He said and smiled, "they rule."

"They're alright…" She said as she pulled out a sterile wad and wiped some of the blood away from his forehead.

"You're both insane." Keo spoke up from his seat directly in front of the computer. He was already clicking away on the internet. "Hayseed Dixie. Now _they_ rule."

"Keo, don't touch her computer." Ben said tiredly.

Kate interrupted. "S' alright. There's nothing there to incriminate me." She said with a smile directed at Ben.

"There will be when he's done." Ben continued.

Keo interrupted. "Who doesn't have porn on their computer dude? C'mon…"

"I don't'." Ben said pointedly.

Keo sighed. "Well I don't have porn, but I have something just as good." Kate said and walked over to the computer. She pushed Keo aside and leaned over beside him.

"What's better than porn?" He asked seriously.

She looked down at him with an equally serious look. "This."

"Holy crap!"

"What?" Ben couldn't see the site from his seat on the bed. As he got up he felt vertigo get the better of him. He was quickly saved by his two friends and placed back on the bed.

Keo who was still surprised answered his question. "Dude you should see her computer. There's loads of sick shit there. I mean, really…."

Ben looked at Kate who simply shrugged. "I have weird hobbies."

"She has sites with information on ghosts and demons." Keo said as he turned to stare at Ben with dark eyes. Ben nodded once in comfort. Kate never noticed the exchange.

Kate pulled out a couple of cotton balls and gently stuffed them in Ben's nose despite his arguments. She poked the thin cut in his eyebrow gently and frowned in sympathy when he hissed. "Doesn't look like you need any stitches. Doesn't look that deep."

"How do you know?" Keo came over to inspect the cut too.

"Used to be a candy striper at the local hospital. You have no idea how many times I've heard that sentence from doctors." She rolled her eyes and smiled when Ben grinned.

"What's so funny?" She asked as she put on a band-aid.

"The image of you in a candy striper dress." He saw her face blush for the tiniest of seconds only to return to its normal color.

"I looked damn cute in that dress." She said as she pulled the cotton wads out of his nose.

"There. All done."

"What the hell?" Keola's disbelieving voice called from in front of the computer.

"What?" Ben asked only half interested.

"You have info about Jonesy." He said as he turned to face Kate.

She looked almost sad as she came over and pulled up two more chairs for Ben and Keo. She took the one directly in front of the screen. "There's a good reason for that."

"I really can't think of anything that could explain this." He pointed a post mortem picture taken of Jonesy on the autopsy table.

Ben frowned and looked to Kate as she sat down in front of the computer. "I'm investigating his death."

"What?" Keo asked in a disbelieving voice.

"Keo, calm down." Ben said in a calm voice.

"Dude, she has websites about monsters and demons on her preferred list and pictures of dead guys on her computer. Why the hell am I the one who needs to calm down?" Keo was standing.

"Keo, please just sit down and let me explain." Kate tried.

"No!" He refused.

"She's just doing what you and I are doing too." Ben said very slowly.

Keo froze and looked at Ben with dark, secretive eyes. "This is not the same."

"What is?" Kate asked but was ignored.

"She's just doing the same thing I am." Ben said calmly.

"Not the same, dude." Keo maintained.

"I started a file on Jonesy too." Ben said.

Kate watched as Keo paled a little.

"You what?"

"I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd tell me to leave it alone."

"Damn right I will-"

"He didn't just die…!" Ben stubbornly maintained. "Something killed him."

"Something…?" Kate asked slowly.

Both boys turned to stare at her with open mouths.

"We might as well tell her now." Ben said and shrugged. Keo sighed and sat back down gesturing to Ben to take the lead. Ben turned back to Kate and stared intently at her. "You're not the only one who has weird hobbies." He said with the wisp of smile softening his face. He glanced at Keo who nodded for him to continue.

"Remember those two guys who rescued us back then?" He asked knowing she would.

"Yeah." He saw the recognition in her eyes.

"They're not normal guys." He took a deep breath. "They were hunters." She frowned.

"Hunters of…. what?"

"'_What'_ is exactly right." Ben said with dark eyes.

"Monsters…." She finished for him. "They hunt monsters."

"Just like me and Keo." He finished and made her face pale even more.

For a second he saw a disbelieving frown work its way over her face and felt his world crumble. Then the frown was replaced with shock. "You hunt this stuff?" She looked back at Keo.

He shrugged and looked down. "Not me as much. I mostly do the digging…" He smiled to himself. "Literally."

Ben flashed a smile too, but Kate didn't understand the shared joke. "What?"

"We don't do this a lot. There's not a lot of free time for us to do it in and we're not that good…. Yet." He finished. "I'm learning and one day I'm gonna be the best one out there."

"The best hunter?" Kate asked.

Ben felt some of the disbelief still lingering in her. "You know as well as I so that you can't just continue like nothing happened when you've experienced something like that. Something that terrifying." He finished.

She knew. She knew perfectly well what an experience like that did to you. It made you paranoid. Ever since that time she had felt more aware of the world around her. The things she would have taken for granted before were now just big question marks. She had learned one thing from that experience. That was that she didn't know anything. So she had decided to learn. She had decided to get to know the world around her. For better and for worse. She had never heard of hunters though. She had never imagined Ben to be one. But now that she thought about it, it made sense. He was strong, just, brave. He fit the mold the word brought with it. Hunter. Protector of innocence. Defender of the weak and slayer of evil. She smiled at the last one. He mind was running away with her.

In front of her he smiled back. Then her face sobered. Seriousness took over. "I wanna help." She said in the strongest voice she could.

"Oh hell no-"

"Keola…" She turned to the objecting friend and looked him deep in the eye, Ben momentarily forgotten. "I can do this. I know what's out there. I can help you find it and kill it." He face fell and he looked to Ben for help.

He came through. "It's too dangerous." He said. Kate turned back to him.

"I know exactly how dangerous it is. I was right there next to you, remember?" Anger laced her words and made Ben take notice. "I can do this job just as good as you."

Ben's face fell too.

"She makes too good a point." Keo said with regret. Ben looked at him.

"Still think it's too dangerous." Ben said in a low voice.

Kate leaned forward and grabbed Ben's hands in hers. "I need to help. I can't just sit back and watch the world go to hell."

He stared deep into her eyes and made his decision. "We're in charge. We have one thing you don't and that's experience with this stuff. You do as we say and if it get's too dangerous you pull back. Understood?" Ben asked seriously.

"Understood." She couldn't help the satisfied smile, but would quickly regret it.

"This isn't a joke, Kate. This is real and dangerous."

"I know. I'm sorry." She looked down and back to the computer. "This is gonna take all night isn't it?"

Keo huffed. "If we're lucky. Figuring out these things usually takes days."

"I think it's a trickster." Kate said and turned to the screen. With trained fingers she pulled out several windows with pictures of various monsters and written explanations.

Keo raised his eyebrows and look at Ben for answers. He looked just as surprised as him. "How did you get to that conclusion?" Keo asked and moved closer.

Kate pulled up another page of a certain trickster and sat back. "Well it starts with the Erie tribes which populated the area around here for several hundred years ago. Hence the name Lake Erie."

"Yeah we know." Keo supplied, but was silenced with a look from Ben.

"Well the Erie tribe was later concurred by the Iroquois tribe due to their inferior numbers-"

"Who were inferior? The Eire tribe or the Iroquois?" Keo asked slowly getting pulled into the story.

Kate stared at him along with Ben. "The Erie you ass." Ben threw a pillow at him and returned to the screen and Kate.

She refocused and clicked on a new page for more information. "The Erie tribe's religion was slowly intermixed with that of the Iroquois and got difficult to distinguish. But seeing as all Indian lore is basically the same only with different names for the same things, the creatures are the same, but the names just change."

"So what's this one called?"

"A Hagondes." She said and clicked up a new page. "It says he is a clown spirit who likes to play tricks on humans. Says he likes winners and despises people he sees as unworthy." She looked from Ben to Keo. "Like alcoholic school janitors who never amounted to very much…" She finished.

Ben's eyes darkened too as he took in the info. It was Keo who broke the silence.

"Well this is good news." He leaned over and typed in a new page. "They're easy to kill."

"Wait wait wait. Are we even sure this thing is a trickster? If it was I would have thought there would be more deaths?"

"Maybe it's just getting started?" Kate suggested.

"Yeah and are you really just gonna wait till it kills someone else?" Keo asked as he brought up the page he was looking for. "Here. says you kill 'em by shoving a stake through their hearts."

"That's it?" Ben asked. "Just a stake through he heart and they die?"

"I thought that was vampires?" Kate interrupted.

"Yeah so did I." Keo said as he read the page a little closer. "Says it has to be dipped in lamb's blood."

"Were the hell do we get that?" Ben asked already imagining this think keeping on killing.

"The butchers?" Kate suggested.

Keo smiled. "See, this is why I suggested we should bring her along in this."

"You did no such thing!" Kate argued heatedly. "You said-"

"Now now. We don't need to argue about that now." Keo interrupted.

"So we're really doing this?" Ben's serious voice asked.

"I thought you did this stuff on a regular basis?" Kate asked.

"Never anything this big." Ben said with a serious voice. "A few ghosts, a poltergeist one time." He glanced at Keo. "We thought we found a werewolf once, but it turned out to be something else."

"What was it?" Kate asked.

"That's not important. What is is that we've never been up against anything this big before. We have no idea how strong this thing is."

"Says here it's got the power of a demi-god. Whatever the hell that is…"

"It's a half god. Son or daughter of a human and a pure god." Kate answered without looking up.

"How did you know that?" Keo asked completely surprised.

Kate shrugged. "I did some research."

"How the hell do you have time for this _and_ school?"

She shrugged again. "Don't know. Just sit around sometimes anyway with nothing to do. Might as well use it to learn something."

"We learn at school." Keo argued.

"Kate learns at school. You use it to practice your favorite hobby…" Keo looked over at a smiling Ben. "…Sleeping." He said with an even brighter smile.

"Jerk." Keo fired off.

"Bitch." Ben said in a flat voice.

"Guys?" Kate asked. "If this thing _is_ here, then where is it staying when it's not busy killing?"

Ben looked down in thought. "At the school maybe?"

"Isn't that a little too obvious?" Keo asked.

"You got any better ideas?"

"How about Evergreen?" Kate suggested.

"The cemetery?" Keo asked with disbelief.

"Don't know…" Ben drawled out. "An Indian spirit hanging out on a Christian cemetery?"

Kate smiled. "It wasn't always Christian."

"What?"

"It was once used as a whole nother religious burial ground."

Ben smiled too. "Lemme guess… Indian burial ground?"

Kate answered simply by smiling too. She glanced at Keo and saw a devious smile on his face as well.

"Oh this is gonna be so sweet." Keo's smile turned to a big grin as he felt the thrill of the hunt rise.


	6. Bury your friends and kiss your fears 2

Three hours passed with the three friends sitting in Kate's room studying, learning about their enemy. It was almost three hours before the first and painfully obvious question occurred in Ben's mind. He almost wanted to kick himself over not thinking about it right away.

"What do we do about the weapon?" He looked at his two friends with tired eyes.

They looked at each other but it was Kate who answered. "Well stakes we can make. We have a fireplace full of pine logs and a small axe in the shed out back."

"And the lamb's blood?"

Keo looked at his wristwatch. "The butcher opens at like five in the morning. That's in about two hours."

"We can do this tonight." Kate looked at each friend in awe of what they were about to do.

"If we find it that is." Ben said in a tired voice.

"Well no matter what, I think it's bout time we got some coffee." Keo left his chair and walked downstairs to make them something to drink.

Ben leaned over and whispered to Kate. "I hope your parent lock their liquor cabinet." She smiled back.

A moment passed where Ben thought about every event that had brought them at this point in time. This point in their lives. He thought about what would change after tonight. If he and Kate would get closer? If he would ever be able to get as close to her as he wanted.

He had no idea how much his life would change over the course of this one night.

**Cicero Pines Motel, 3 am.**

"So, geekboy what did you find out?" Dean came over and sat down next to Sam. He handed his brother a cup of coffee and drank his in greedy gulps. His brother was far too busy searching the internet for info about the death at Ben's school to notice the steaming liquid.

"I found a couple of things. The most likely is that the janitor, Bill Jones, was killed by an electrical current."

"He zapped himself?" Dean stated more than asked.

"I actually think it was the work of one Mr. Jeremy Ivanhoe."

"Seriously?" Dean raised an eyebrow at his brother and made a small smile erupt on his face.

"Yeah. Found a fifty year old obit for a teenager who died on the school. It was one of the most vicious attacks the community had ever seen of bullying." Sam cast serious eyes at Dean.

"Bullies?"

"The article says that three boys, Alexander Christensen, Patrick Emery Miller and Robert Star, 'accidentally' pushed Jeremy into an open fuse box. The kid died almost instantly."

"He was fried to death." Dean stated with disbelief.

"Yeah." Sam's sad eyes looked up. He knew exactly what was going through Dean's mind. How his brother felt about this ghost roaming the halls of Ben's school. He wanted it to end. He wanted to stop it him self.

"Do we know where the kid was buried?"

Sam pulled up a news paper on the screen. "Evergreen Terrace right here in Cicero." He smiled when Dean's teeth glinted back at him.

"Then let's go kill ourselves a ghost." Dean got up in a rush. They were ready and out the door in less than three minutes.

**Evergreen Terrace; Cicero, Indiana 5:53 am.**

The drive was short, but the tension was almost palpable. They had stopped at the slaughterhouse on their way to the cemetery to get the lamb's blood. Ben felt tension stiffen his neck and shoulders. They were gonna find this thing and kill it. _How hard can that be?_ In theory it sounded like a piece of cake. The plan was good, but the execution would soon prove to be more difficult.

They pulled up to the big iron gates. They were locked with a thick padlock. Ben pulled out a tongs and ripped open the gate. They drove the car in to save time. They had no idea where the plot was, but discovered to their joy that a section of the graveyard was sealed off. The section preserved for its unique historical value that was. There was even a big sign welcoming them to the last remnants of the Erie tribe. They stopped in the middle of the fenced off yard and looked around.

Ben felt strangely at ease. The night was alive with nocturnal animals. The stars shone down on them from the black exposed sky. The moon hung lazily over the horizon like a pale, orange eye. The sky was very slowly beginning to brighten as dawn crept closer.

"I don't think there's anything here." Ben said and huffed. White fog formed in the air as his hot breath lifted from his mouth.

"Let's do a round." Keo suggested.

"K. Katie you stay here and keep watch. Yell if you see anything." Ben said and started walking.

But she stopped him. "What? I am not being left behind!" She sounded shocked and outraged.

Ben turned with a glance at Keo. "Yes you are." _No discussion_.

It was like she read his mind, because an argument never came. She just stood there as the two had a staring match. Ben won and turned with Keo right behind him. Together the two friends walked into the dawning night.

Kate huffed and rolled her eyes at the idiots. Without her noticing the night had gone completely still around her. It had turned darker even. More ominous. She slowly began to realize that something was coming. If not there already.

**Evergreen Terrace 6:04 am.**

Sam and Dean pulled up to the open gates with deep frowns. "The door is open." Dean commented.

"Think anyone's home?" Sam asked and turned to look at his brother. they were thinking the same thing. _Other hunters_.

"What now?" Over the years Sam and Dean had alienated themselves with their community. They'd had some bad run-in's which regrettably had turned into enemies. Most of the other hunters were after Sam because of his reputation. Others were after them both simply because they didn't like them. The Winchester only had a few friends left. Most of them old, some of them new. Young hunters they had met and trained with. Taught them what they could. Their friends were few, but loyal. And their enemies were scattered and devout in their beliefs. Whether it was that Sam was the antichrist or that both Sam and Dean were assholes who deserved to die.

Sam swallowed convulsively as they exited the car and went to the trunk. "I think we should walk." He said as he looked for any exits they had missed.

"Yeah. Otherwise they'll hear us come in." Dean grabbed a rock salt loaded shot gun and cocked it. He looked pointedly to Sam who copied his brother's move.

"Let's go kill Caspar." Sam said seriously as he could get.

"And anyone who stands in our way." Dean finished as they both entered through the large iron gates.

Kate tensed and froze as a twig snapped somewhere in the dark. She pointed the flashlight towards the sound hoping to get a glimpse of the elusive creature. _And not die in the process_.

"Hello…"

She shrieked and turned in a rush with her stake pointed in front of her. "Wh-Who are you?" A young man stood a few feet in front of her, just staring. His pale skin and deep eyes caused shivers to erupt all over her body. He didn't look human.

"My name is Jeremy." He said in a soft voice. "Who are you?"

Kate took a step back still pointing the stake in front of her. "I'm Kate."

"Who are your friends?" The man asked. "The two men."

"They're friends of mine." She said and took another step back.

"You sure?" The vision in front of her frowned and shimmered.

Her breath froze in her throat. "Y-You're a ghost."

The boy smiled. "Not what you were expecting?"

She started shaking for real as the ghost came closer.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt your friends if they don't hurt me." A smile that seemed so unfitting flashed across its face as it shimmered out of there. Kate first felt relief loosen her heart, but fear immediately took its place. It was going after Ben and Keola!

She turned in a rush but stopped at the sight in front of her. A fresh grave that hadn't been there a second ago was suddenly right in front of her. From beneath a wooden pole with a string and a bell attached to it sat silently in the night. Until suddenly the swayed minutely in front of Kate's eyes. Her breath froze when she read the inscription on the tombstone behind the fresh grave. "Here lies Katharine Keel, daughter of Tania and Stephen Keel."

She felt her heart begin to race and all of a sudden everything went black.

All Ben and Keo heard was a scream from Kate. The same look of horror crossed their faces as they sprinted back to where they had left her. They returned with their hearts thumping and their chests heaving. Ben stopped and looked around, but found nothing. An unmarked grave covered in moss laid right beside them. From the ground a wooden beam shot up with a bell attached to it. The grave looked at least a hundred years old. He hadn't noticed it before and something about it made his skin crawl.

"Katie?" He called carefully.

"Kate?!" Keo tried a little louder, but still only little more than a whisper.

Suddenly a shape appeared in front of them. A man dressed in plain clothes smiled sweetly at them at the sight of their distraught faces. "Who are you?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Depends… Who are you?" Ben gripped the stake a little tighter.

"I think he's the trickster, Benny." Keo said as he took a step back.

"Where is Kate?" Ben demanded.

The man simply smiled. "She's around."

"Where!" Ben flinched forward and barely stopped himself.

The man simply smiled and shimmered away in a blue-ish light. Ben and Keo wasted all of two seconds staring dumbly at each other before they started looking for Kate.

The ghost was here. Dean felt it. He tasted it in the air. Almost smelled the ozone already. He felt Sam's body tense next to his. They felt every move the other made. Together they walked further into the darkness. Dean almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of a scream. Both brothers looked at each other and started sprinting towards the place of the sound.

"Katie!!!" Ben cried.

"Kate!" Keo yelled just as frantically.

"KATE!!!" Ben hollered out with panicked tears lining his eyes.

A piercing sound stopped them. The sound of a delicate silver bell ringing. Ben and Keo turned to look at the bell sticking out of the soil, ringing furiously. It danced and shook on its hook like it was alive. Ben and Keo's expressions morphed from fear to confusion and fear. They stood and watched as the bell rang furiously.

"Keo… was that grave there before?" Ben asked in the slightest whisper.

Keo darted his eyes to Ben and then back to the bell swinging on the hook like it was possessed. His eyes widened and his mouth opened in a shocked cry.

Ben felt his body ice over and the very air in his lungs weigh them down until breathing became impossible. "Oh god…."

"Is s-she…" Keo stuttered out as the ringing only got louder and louder.

Without answering Ben lunged forward towards the grave. The soil was heavy as if it had been there for hundreds of years. But Ben dug like furious with his hands, gripping huge handfuls of dirt and throwing it back. Keo stumbled over and started digging too. The two boys dug and dug but only gained few inches with every passing minute. The bell was still ringing like an insane clock ticking down. Ben kept glancing at hit fearing what he would do when it stopped ringing. Fearing what it might mean for Kate.

"No…" The word was barely audible over the ringing, but Keo heard. He grit his teeth and dug harder. He would NOT let this happen! As their strokes got longer and bigger they unearthed more and more earth. The ringing was still frantic and desperate. _She's not dying. She's still there. She's still alive_.

As the pile of dirt around them grew and as they burrowed deeper into the soil the earth got wet and heavy. It stuck to their fingers and squeezed between them when they grabbed handfuls and threw them back. Ben didn't feel his hands shaking as he dug faster and faster. Keo felt his panic be replaced with fury. A drive to get her out. Get her out and keep them safe. Keep the trickster from getting to them. But for now all that mattered was digging out this hole.

Ben suddenly flinched when he pounded his stretched fingers into a hard surface. Wood. They had hit the coffin.

"KATE!" He hollered with Keo yelling too right along with him.

"_Ben!!_" It was lowered by the coffin, but not muffled or weak in any way.

_She's still alive. She's fine and you'll get her out of here and everything will be fine_.

"_Please get me o-outta h-here!!_" Her desperate plea reached them and made them dig faster.

They scraped away the mud around the edges with bleeding fingers. It had started raining lightly. The light falling mist quickly covered everything in a thin sheen of cold moisture. Ben didn't notice as he felt around the edge of the lid for a grip. Something to lift it by.

"Keo." He found it and started lifting. The lid wasn't nailed shut or secured in any way, but he didn't notice. To him it was the hardest thing he had ever done. He pulled with every muscle he had. He felt his entire body begin to shake uncontrollably. With a massive heave they lifted the lid and tipped it away.

Kate was in the coffin, crying and sobbing. The second she saw Ben she reached up her arms for him and he grabbed them. He pulled her out almost with no help from Keo and out of the dug out grave. The wet grass had never felt so sweet for Kate. She was shaking and crying, but it was OK 'cause Ben was there. He had saved her like she so desperately hoped he would.

Ben was crying out of control. He couldn't stop the tears that rolled from his eyes, down his wet face. Keo sat silently beside them with a hand on Kate's shoulder. The night was alive again. The rain dripped softly on crisp, green leaves and dripped to the dark soil for the trees to soak up. the night was safe again.

And suddenly they heard a noise. A twig snapping and feet thumping. Then shoes slipping in the forming mud as they skid to a halt. Keo was the first to turn and what he saw caused his face to freeze with fear and surprise. Kate didn't notice the newcomers and barely looked up. Ben, however, looked up and froze in shock of what he found staring down at him.

"Dean…?"


	7. I hate reunions

"Dean?" Ben choked out the words while staring at the figure in front of him.

Dean stood there in utter shock staring at three teenagers in front of him. He nudged Sam with his arm and Sam looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Do you know who those three are?" Dean's whisper of a voice asked.

Sam looked at his brother to the distraught teenagers. "Uhhmm… Three teenagers who shouldn't be here and who are scared to death?" He whispered so only Dean would hear him.

"Yeah, I know they shouldn't be here, Sam. I'm not stupid." Dean glanced towards the teenagers but didn't move towards them. "That's Ben Braeden!" Dean whispered in a hiss.

"Ben Braeden?" Sam looked a second time at the young man staring intently at Dean. "As in Lisa's son Ben Braeden?" Sam asked raising his brow.

Dean lost himself in those large, brown eyes. The young man looking at him now was not the child he remembered leaving behind all those years ago. "Yeah…" It was a boy growing up to be a strong, young man.

He felt his brother shift in discomfort. "Why the hell is he here?"

Dean's annoyance flared. "I don't know, why don't you ask him yourself?"

Sam took a second to glare at his big brother. "Fine," He said through clenched teeth. He approached the three distraught teens with caution. Dean barely managed to stop him before he was already crouching beside Ben and Katie. "Hey…" He said tentatively.

"S-Sam?" The boy stuttered.

"Hey. Ben?" The young man nodded and Sam continued, trying to contain his discomfort and shock. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"We uhh…" Ben glanced insecurely at his two friends.

"Who are they?" Dean interrupted pointing to Keo and a still shivering Kate.

"This is Kate," He lowered his head onto hers in a gesture of acknowledgement and comfort. "And this is Keo." He nodded towards the boy beside him.

"Back to my question, _Dean_" Sam said, not surprised that his brother would change the subject, "Ben, what are you guys doing here?"

"Um, we….were….uh….checking something out." Sam noticed Ben glanced at Keo in discomfort.

"Well, it would help if you told us what exactly" Sam urged softly.

"We were checking out a trickster!" Keola piped up. Sam suddenly noticed that the young man didn't seem as calm as his two friends. He seemed angry and scared…. And something else.

"Keo!" Ben whispered harshly glaring at his friend.

"What? I was just trying to help" Keola said innocently. His protective anger instantly dwindled. For a second Sam saw Dean's face in the face of the young guy apparently named Keo.

"Dude! Just shut the hell up!" Ben said staring at his friend in disbelief.

"Geez, sorry, chill out." Keo shrugged and frowned.

Dean was following the exchange very carefully and noticed that this seemed to be escalating. "Alright, alright, we had our nice little reunion. now I think it's time we take you three home." Dean said in his general-voice.

"But-" The two boys said together.

"No but's! You may not give a shit about your own safety, but I for one think Katie could really use a cup of tea right now." Dean huffed and allowed his anger to stew. He glared squarely at Ben. The tension thickened the air until he was sure no one was questioning who was in charge.

Dean then leaned down, grabbed Kate off the ground completely and carried her away into the darkness.

Sam remained only to give the two reckless boys a hard stare. Ben and Keo looked at each other in shock of what just happened. Keo reached down and pulled Ben up from the muddy dirt which, Ben noticed with a sour frown, had decided to take up residence in his clothes, hair and every crease in his skin. Keo gave him a saddened and slightly angry look and said, "Some freakin hunt this turned out to be"

"Tell me about it" Ben replied, following Sam and Dean to the sleek, black car. It still sparkled somehow. Even in the bleak light of dawn. Ben saw Keo readying to open his mouth and argue about leaving his Honda, but thought better of it when Dean gave him a harsh stare.

"Don't say one word. Get in the car." Dean's voice was deceptively calm and worried Ben more than he imagined out right anger would. He hurried in beside Kate who was still shivering. He was tempted to reach his arm around her, but didn't know how she would react. After all this was all his fault. To his surprise her soft hand reached down and grabbed onto his filthy one. Their fingers intertwined and he didn't let go until they arrived at her house.

"Are you sure you'll be alright alone?" Dean asked with worry as she headed back to the blackened house.

"I'll call someone to stay with me if I start to feel worried." She suddenly noticed Dean and Ben wearing the exact same frown, and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll know if something's up." She saw Dean's frown change to one of outright worry to annoyed acceptance. Ben's didn't change, which worried her more.

After Dean had dropped off Kate and Keola, he headed off to Ben's house. Ben wished the drive had taken longer because be wasn't ready for his mom.

As they pulled up the gravel driveway, Ben felt his pulse rise. He turned just as he was outside the door and faced Sam and Dean. He took a deep breath and crossed his fingers. "You think that maybe one of you guys could come with me?.... just in case?" Dean and Sam shared a look and both exited the car. Ben relaxed into a frown a little less fearful looking than the one he'd had a second ago.

"Sure thing Ben" Sam said smiling. Dean didn't say anything, but just smiled and nodded. He still seemed annoyed.

Ben saw the light in the living room was still on. _Damn,_ he thought. He had hoped the confrontation could at least have waited till tomorrow. His mom thought he was sleeping over. Why was she still up?

"She's still up," He said with terror in his voice.

Dean looked at Sam behind Ben's back, who shrugged softly and answered the young man. "Let's go." He gave Ben an encouraging, but forceful shove towards the house.

As Ben opened the door to his two-story home, he saw his mother standing there with an angered expression on her face. He barely got to say anything when she rushed forward. He had never seen her so angry. "Benjamin Isaac Braeden! What the hell happened?! I called Roy and Kathy and asked if you guys were alright and they tell me that you and Keola are here! What the hell were you!-"

Lisa stopped dead when she saw the two men who walked in with Ben. It was none other than Dean and Sam Winchester.

"Hey Lisa" Dean said quietly smiling a bit. He seemed annoyed.

"Dean, Sam, what are you guys doing here? And why is Ben with you?" She felt like her head had been knocked off and sewn back on. Just not good enough. She felt flabbergasted.

Sam nudged Dean and gave him a look only Dean would understand. _Should we tell her? _Dean nodded almost invisibly.

"Okay Lisa," Sam started, "Uhh... Me and Dean did what you asked us to do. We went to the cemetery because we thought it might be a spirit. So we thought we would salt and burn and it would be done. But before we could find the grave we heard a scream and rushed over to see what it was… and there was Ben, some kid named Keo, and Kate-"

"Wait a minute," Lisa raised a hand and cut him off. "You and Keola went to a cemetery? And you brought Kate with you?!" Lisa said, anger raising her voice.

Ben silently pleaded his mom with his eyes. "Mom-"

"Don't mom me young man, you are in so much trouble! You're grounded for a month. And that means no hanging out with Keola!"

"Lisa, come on," Dean interrupted and she fell silent, but Ben saw the dormant volcano that was his mother's feelings. "Give the poor kid a break, he helped out a lot-"

"Oh really? How?" Lisa advanced and Dean actually shifted away. He didn't step back, but the nervousness was clearly there.

_These were his heroes_, Ben thought dryly at the ridiculous sight of the brothers' identical frowns.

"He did a really good job on research. It definitely wasn't a spirit like we thought-"

"Are you hearing yourself?!" She stepped forward again and the two, rather large men, back away almost in sync.

"Uhh-" Dean tried. Sam had already surrendered.

_Wussies!_ Ben rolled his eyes behind his mother's back, but damn if he wasn't caught anyway!

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Benjamin Isaac." She didn't even turn around. She just pointed an accusing finger. "Go to your room!"

"But mom-"

"Not "buts", no "moms"." Her voice had settled too. It only did that when she was seriously pissed off.

Ben gulped and stood still as he awaited the slaughter. Oh, he was never seeing the sun for the rest of his life if she had anything to say. Lisa stood in a prone pose, ready to strike.

Dean noticed her tense posture and took a step forward. "C'mon, Lisa. The kid did good out there-"

"This is SO _not_ about how good he was at desecrating tombs. The fact is that he lied to me!"

"I'm sorry mom."

Lisa glared at her son like he had been the one to plunge a knife in her back.

"Uhh… Lisa? I'm so sorry to cut our little reunion short, but me and Dean still need to finish the hunt." Lisa completely ignored Sam and Dean as she continued to stare at her son.

"Thanks for helping out guys." Ben said a little discouraged.

"And thank you Ben, for helping _us_." Dean finished before he offered a little wave and left the room with Sam close behind.

Ben stood there for a second and watched the leave his house. Leave his life for a second time without so much as a goodbye. As his pulse rose he figured now was the perfect chance to ask before they left. If they said yes, his mother would be mad, but she was already mad. And if they said no then no biggie. Ben kept trying to convince himself of that until he suddenly blurted out.

"Uh, Dean? Sam?" He was fidgeting under his mother's intense stare. His breathing was speeding up as his stress levels rose.

"Yes?" Both brothers said at the same time.

"Can I uh, go with you to help kill the thing?" He asked, not daring to hope.

For a second he thought he saw Dean's face lift in pride, but he never heard the older hunter's answer.

"No!" Sam and Lisa said at the same time.

"Aw come on guys, why not?" Dean asked.

Sam frowned at his brother's light heartedness with the whole warped situation. "Because it's too dangerous Dean" Sam argued.

"And he's grounded" Lisa added in a voice that sounded beyond angry.

Dean sighed and looked at Ben with a sorry expression on his face. "Sorry kiddo. I guess you can't come."

"You're damn right he can't!" Lisa almost yelled. "Since when did you have _anything_ to say about my son?!"

Dean blanched and frowned at the infuriated woman. "Excuse me?"

"It's none of your damn business how I raise my son, Dean!"

"Mom."

"No!" She waved him off. "You don't get to stumble into my house and pretend like you have something to say."

Dean was bout to interrupt, but was cur off by Lisa again.

"You are _not_ his father." She almost believed it this time.

"I know I'm not! You're the one who constantly seems to forget it!" Dean yelled back.

"Guys." Sam tried softly.

"Back off, Sam." Dean said softly and stepped right into Lisa's face. "You're the one who called _us_, remember?!"

"I-I know that-"

"Oh really?"

"Mom? Dean. It's not-"

"Quiet, Ben!" They both said at the same time. Dean continued. "You're the one who wanted us to come here and help fix _your_ problem!" Dean turned in an angry circle whilst running his hands through his hair. "I mean Jesus! You're acting like we invited him to come along."

"Guys i'm the one-"

"Ben I'm gonna say this one last time. Stay out of this." Lisa demanded. Ben felt his anger suddenly spike.

"No!" Everyone settled. "I am not the same kid I was seven years ago, mom." This time Lisa turned to face him and only him.

"I know that-"

"Bullshit!" Ben almost slapped himself with the amount of disrespect he was showing his mother. "You still think I'm some toddler who needs protection. I'm not defenceless mom!"

"I never said that!-" He could see her eyes tearing up.

His were too. "You didn't have to! Everything you do says it for you!" Lisa stopped whilst Ben found himself getting more and more agitated. "This is not the first time I've gone hunting." His mother's face fell and he would have slapped himself if he hadn't been so angry with her. If the anger he had felt deep down all his life hadn't suddenly decided to impose on him. "Me and Kao have been doing this for months! I beat the shit out of five football players tonight, mom!" Ben felt his face redden and knew he should stop before he said something he couldn't take back. "I'm more than capable of defending myself!"

Lisa was speechless. All she could do was stare at the angry, young man that was her son. For once Dean came to her rescue and defended her.

"Don't talk to your mother like that, Ben. She doesn't deserve it." His voice was suddenly calm again.

Ben felt fury scratching in his skull. "Stop telling me what I can and can not do! You are NOT my father and I wish you weren't my mother!" He pointed angrily at his mom and knew he had broken everything right then and there. She went deathly pale.

Her face first broke then hardened. It happened in under a second. Her open palm shot out and caught him across the cheek. He flinched when the slap connected with his face. He felt the burn there a hundred times worse than any beating he had ever had. Supernatural monsters and bullies counted.

"Go to your room." Her voice was toneless and left no room for argument. His eyes misted and a tear dripped over the edge and down his cheek. He turned on his heel and ran for the safety of his room. He felt like he was suffocating. He couldn't catch his breath and needed space.

He left Dean, Sam and Lisa speechless downstairs and never saw his mother's heartbroken sobs. She hurried and sent Sam and Dean packing before she broke down completely. But break, she did.


	8. Bittersweet Symphony

Ben couldn't settle down. He felt like he was still suffocating. His chest kept trying to pull in deep breaths, but failed. He was beginning to get lightheaded when he suddenly heard something from downstairs. The sound of someone crying.

His mother. He stopped all but breathing and listened. Never in his life had he heard such a miserable sound. A sound of someone who thought they had lost everything. His heart fell and tears sprung to his eyes. They dripped down his muddy cheeks and left trails in the dried dirt. She was crying because of him. She was miserable because of him. Her life wouldn't have looked like this if he hadn't been born to screw it up. He choked off a sob. His face screwed up in a frown as more tears dripped down his cheeks.

He sank to the floor and curled in on himself. This was all his fault. His mother would have never even known there was anything wrong in the world if he hadn't been born and subsequently taken by the changelings. All of it was because of him. She could have been happily married right now. Have lead a normal life if not for him.

And he was the only one who could fix it.

Dean and Sam hadn't returned to the cemetery after seeing Ben and his mom fight. Dean had been strangely quiet since then. Sam glanced up from his research to study his brother. He was worried Dean had been upset by the fight. Looking at him now, his brother seemed like he was pondering the meaning of the universe.

"Dean?" Sam tried. He didn't really want anything other than to hear his brother talk.

Dean immediately looked up, interrupted from his deep thoughts. "What? Found something?"

"No." Sam continued to stare.

"Then what?" Dean asked surprisingly patient.

Sam sighed and looked back down.

"What?" Dean prompted.

Sam looked back up. "You think we should have done something?"

"About what?" Dean was playing dumb. He didn't know why, though. It never worked.

"Back there with Ben and Lisa?"

Dean sighed wearily, instantly reminding Sam of just how much his older brother had really been through. "There was nothing we could have done, Sam. Stop obsessing over it."

"I was just asking."

"Well don't. Focus on the hunt." Dean nodded suggestively towards the computer and returned to not reading the newspaper clippings in front of him. His mind was elsewhere too. He just didn't want to admit it to himself. And certainly not Sam. That would just set off another _'why don't you just ask her to marry you and live happily ever after?'_ trip from Sam. So he buried his face in the papers hoping to find something useful.

Several hours later, Sam was the first to break the silence. "So what do you thing it is?"

Dean looked up and rubbed his tired eyes. "I have no idea, man. I'm kinda leaning towards the ghost."

"I thought you agreed with Ben?"

"Yeah, but that would just be way too coincidental even for us."

"How so?" Sam frowned and focused solely on his brother.

"I mean a trickster, which we hate, just happens to be reeking havoc in the town of my former lover?" Dean raised an eyebrow sardonically.

"Doesn't seem like such a far stretch knowing what we know."

"Having seen what we've seen." Dean finished. Sam nodded.

"So you really think he did a good job like you said?" Sam was careful to keep his voice calm and soft.

Dean frowned seemingly taking the very subtle bait. "Yeah I kinda do." Dean flashed a sad smile for about a second. Sam would have missed it if he hadn't been looking.

"You're proud of him aren't you?" There was more than a little astonishment in his voice.

Dean frowned again. "So what if I am?"

"Do you _want_ him to become a hunter?"

"Of course not!"

"I was just asking-"

"Well stop asking stupid questions-"

"I will-"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" Sam huffed and disengaged from the verbal sparring match. Dean accepted the surrender happily and returned, frown in place, to his study of old articles. Sam tried several times to reengage his brother, but every attempt failed.

The bleak dawn quickly turned to morning which turned to day. The sun outside was shining and kids were playing in the park. Dean was getting stir crazy and needed some space. All night long Sam had tried to talk to him about his feelings. Get Dean to open up, which Dean had no intention of doing. So in a last ditch effort Dean had gone for coffee. That had alleviated the situation until ten minutes later when he returned with the coffee.

Sam had started back up. This time with sugar pumped coffee in his system. Dean had gotten annoyed, this time with tar black coffee in _his_ system. It had escalated to a shouting match with Dean calling Sam a persistent little brat. Sam had just gotten even more riled up at the comment and left Dean no choice but to punch him or leave. Dean chose the latter. Things with his brother had never really settled down after Dean's trip to hell. After Sam's short alliance with Ruby. Things had been tense and awkward ever since then. Dean knew why. So did Sam. They were both just too stubborn and pigheaded to do anything about it. Sam was still keeping secrets and Dean was still refusing to share his emotional problems. 'Cause problems it was. He had slowly begun to acknowledge that about himself. He was slowly, step by step, letting go of all the old feelings of inadequacy. Very slowly.

He had left the cramped room in a hurry and was now stomping through the pleasantly quiet streets. He was lost in his own mind when he suddenly found a sign pointing him in the direction of Cicero High School. He tilted his head and mulled over the thought. It was a Sunday. The school was closed and it was probably not that difficult to break in. He felt in his pocket for the lock pick. When his fingers brushed against the familiar leather pouch he nodded to himself and headed for the school grounds. He walked over the football field where the school janitor had died and found someone he didn't expect.

There in the centre of the court was Ben. The boy stood as if he was cut from stone. He was tall. So much taller than the last time Dean had seen him. A light smile flittered over his face. He started with soft, casual steps towards the boy.

Ben jumped when he suddenly heard someone coming to a halt next to him. When he turned he saw someone he thought he would have never seen again. "Dean?"

Dean smiled and reached a hand up to ruffle the boy's hair. "Hey kid."

Ben allowed Dean to mess up his hair seeing as he was having trouble closing his mouth with surprise.

"What?" Dean shifted and touched his face. "I got something in my face?"

Ben grunted and looked away with a smile. He liked Dean. What he remembered and what he saw now was largely the same. Dean seemed so comforting. So light-hearted and naturally authoritative. "No. don't worry. Your face is fine." Dean narrowed his eyes at Ben's tone. "It's your style that's all wrong."

Dean broke in a smile and jabbed the kid on the arm. Ben grunted again and returned his thoughtful, brown eyes to the molehills in the ground. All humour left his face and Dean's slowly followed.

"This is where he died isn't it?" Dean asked insightfully.

Ben could barely answer. He felt his throat already tying up. He nodded and looked at the stupid molehills still humming with life. "The stupid gophers survived." His voice was thick and his eyes were already burning.

"Tough break."

Ben huffed, but didn't answer.

"Did you know him well?" Dean casually stepped closer and allowed his shoulder to brush against Ben's, offering the kid some unspoken support.

"Not really. Jus' liked him better than most of the kids at school, ya know?" Ben's voice was thick and deep with tears. The same tears that were slowly falling down his face.

From those deep, expressive eyes. "I'm sorry." Dean said as he stared at he boy that somehow was so much like him and still so different. So open.

Ben closed his eyes and his shoulders hitched once with a restrained sob. His hand flew to pinch the bridge of his eyes and to hide the tears showing there. Dean silently reached up and put his arm around the young man. Ben broke. His shoulders bobbed as a strangled sob forced its way out of his throat.

"It's alright." Dean's deep voice calmed him as he started rubbing in slow circles on the boy's back.

Ben leaned in to the comforting hold and allowed one more sob to escape. Dean held Ben in silence and allowed the boy to cry out his sadness. Dean knew there was nothing he could say that would make it better so he said nothing. Just held on.

Ben found Dean's accepting silence so soothing. So comforting. His mother would have fussed and bushed back his hair. She would have looked into his eyes and soaked up every broken feeling. But Dean just held on. He allowed Ben to break down without demanding anything from him. He allowed Ben the safety he had always longed for. The comfort from someone who knew exactly how you felt. Someone who felt it with you. His mother was sweet and empathic, but she would never know how Ben felt. How he really felt. Dean would if he didn't already.

He knew Ben felt guilty and heartbroken about not being able to save the janitor who was obviously a friend. Or perhaps not friend as much as a silent understanding between two strangers. Just like Dean and Ben had now.

Dean leaned his chin on Ben's head, unconsciously mimicking Ben's move with Kate earlier that morning, and whispered into the boy's ear. "We'll find who did this and kill 'em."

Ben found his centre and his solace with those words. He felt his guilt and sadness turn to something more useful. Anger. A little dwindling light flickering deep in his heart. A heat to keep him standing. To keep him going. To finish the job. He forcefully stopped the sobs and tears. Deep breaths were all that could be heard from him. When he finally felt composed enough he leaned away from Dean's soft hug and stared at the man who had always been his hero.

"I wanna come with you."

Dean saw an unexplained emotion flicker across Dean's face. It vanished in less than a second and turned to doubt. "I don't think your mother is cool with that idea, Ben." Dean's voice was genuinely regretful.

Ben swallowed and balanced his stance as if preparing for a fight. Dean noticed with a flicker or strange recognition. "She doesn't decide if I get to do this." Ben said in a firm voice.

Dean felt sadness and disappointment creep into his heart at what he was about to say. "If she says no so will I." Dean stared solemnly at the young man whose face fell a fraction.

"Then I'll do it alone."

Dean was about to argue, but was interrupted by Ben.

"I've done this kind of stuff before and I'm _not_ letting that sonofabitch that did that to Kate, get away and hurt someone else."

Dean paled at how much Ben sounded like himself. He had the same conviction Dean had. The burning desire to keep people safe. To sacrifice his own life for others'. And suddenly Dean knew with horror how the kid's life would end up. He would start hunting if someone didn't stop him. And Dean's biggest regret was that he would have to do that.

"You're not coming with us, Ben. Sorry." He hardened his face and tried not to cry out when Ben's face fell like it did when Lisa slapped him.

It hardened seconds after as his determination set in. "Then I'll go without you. Take Keo and kill this thing. We already have everything we need."

"Not everything, kid." Den stepped closer and felt desperation tug at him for what he was doing to stop. For someone else to come in and do it for him. "You're and amateur. Last night you nearly got your friend killed." Dean stepped a little closer and saw Ben's eyes widen in fear. He begged to whoever was listening for the boy not to hate him forever. "Katie could have died. She could have been hurt in a thousand different ways."

"I didn't think of that-"

"No you didn't think! This is _not_ a game and you and your little friends are nothing more dangerous than amateurs. And that's the most dangerous thing out there." He looked up and down the young man he would gladly have fought alongside with, with a look of contempt. "Amateurs." He spat the word out like a curse and saw Ben flinch and his face fall. Dean knew he had done it. He had broken what little will the boy had to fight. And Ben would never forgive him for it.

"You stay the hell away from this hunt. Me and Sam are on this and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let a couple of snot-nosed brats steal it from me…!" He hissed it out with the most poisonous voice he could muster and saw Ben take a step back.

Ben felt ice cold. Everything he had thought about Dean and Sam had just been turned upside down and inside out. The real insides of the two, brave hunters. The dark and cynical truth. They were no better than anybody else. The world was full of the same people. Cheaters and thieves. Greedy parasites trying to suck as much pleasure out of the world and the people around them before they died. Ben could feel tears threatening to spill again and turned on his heel.

He never saw Dean's face fall to one of complete heartbreak as he stormed off into the bright day.

Dean was left behind feeling more saddened than ever. He'd just had to break Ben's heart. Shatter everything the guy had ever thought of Dean and Sam. And the worst part of it all was that it was all lies. Dean watched the young man sprint out of there and leave the place of betrayal behind.

Ben sprinted through the lazy streets of the small town. He didn't want to go home just yet. He had already started packing before he left for the school. He intended to leave whether with Sam and Dean or alone. Although alone was definitely not the preferred option. As he sprinted down to the bus stop with angry tears in his eyes his mind focused more and more on what he had to do. He had to do what no one else seemed to want to. He had to save the people who couldn't save themselves. Now more than ever. He Dean had somehow thought his little speech would scare Ben into following through with his plans the experienced hunter had another thing coming.

Ben grabbed the bus and took the ride to simply relax and be in the moment. He needed to clear his head. So what if Dean and Sam weren't who Ben had thought all these years? So what if the two people he looked up to the most had turned out to be frauds just like everybody else? Ben would handle it. He still had friends willing to help him and back him up. Then Dean's previous words resurfaced and caused a whole new kind of dread to explode in Ben. What if something could have happened to them and it would have been Ben's fault? What if something would happen if he and Keo ever went hunting again? What if Keo got hurt because of Ben and this hunt? Ben felt all hope drain from his body as he realized the truly horrifying thought that he was as alone as Dean had so lovingly pointed out to him. How could Ben have been so wrong? Hadn't Dean been the one who had comforted Ben? It had seemed like Dean understood better than anyone else how it was possible to feel guilty for something you hadn't committed, but merely failed to stop.

Ben flinched when the bus screeched to a halt. This was his stop.

He walked from the bus while straightening his AC/DC shirt self-consciously. The house he was visiting was only a few feet from him now. It looked so small compared to all the others. The front yard was overgrown with daisies. Somehow it didn't look bad. It wasn't perfect-pretty like all the suburb gardens with their trimmed roses. Here the flowers had been allowed to grow freely. Wild roses had snuck in under the fence in the back and were intertwined with the hordes of daisies. Ben smiled sadly as he worked his way through the wild front yard. There was no pathway. Just a few bricks laid into the ground here and there. He huffed and smiled as he thought about the reason for their presence. _Jonesy probably wanted to make the mail man work for his money_.

He outright laughed as he remembered the man's sour look whenever he had mentioned his hatred for the demonic mail carriers from hell. Ben looked up and saw to his surprise a woman standing in the door. She was smiling too.

"Most people find our garden annoying." She tilted her head. "Not you though." She smiled.

Ben returned it full force as he made his way through the miniature jungle to greet the woman he was here to see. Mrs. Mills. Jonesy's wife. He was frankly surprised when he had learned about the grumpy, old man having a wife. And seeing her now didn't make the surprise any less. Jonesy had been tall and gangly. He'd always had a short temper. His hair had stuck out in grey wisps from his bony head. He had always been sharp. Quick witted. The woman in front of Ben was his exact opposite. She was small and round. Her radish grey hair fell in soft curls around her face like a bonnet. Her warm and slightly disorientated look was endearing. She looked like she wasn't all there. But with Jonesy not having been all there either Ben figured the two were a match made in heaven. He smiled sweetly at the little old lady.

"Hi I'm Ben Braeden."

She reached out her hand and grabbed his. "Elise Mills, how'd ya do."

Ben smiled and nodded as she waved him inside. He followed without apprehension and fear. He felt like he could trust the woman. She led him into the tiny living room. It looked like a remnant from the 1950'. Ben smiled as he thought about the old man sitting in the well worn lounge chair.

"The chair was one he bought from his old neighbour when he got his first check back in 1957 I think." She frowned as she tried to pin down the elusive memory.

"How long did you know him?" Ben walked over to a small table next to the easy chair and picked up an old picture frame.

"Since we were kids." She joined him and touched the faded and yellowed picture lovingly. "This was us." Two kids running through a field towards the one holding the camera. "I think that was taken on a Sunday…" She said thoughtfully.

Ben smiled at her and turned to face her fully. "You must have a great memory."

She smiled back. "Better than my husband's I'm afraid." She turned, heading for the kitchen. "Do you like tea?"

"Uhh, no that's fine." Ben smiled in decline.

The old woman smiled back wistfully. "Coffee it is then." She turned and left the room. Ben huffed and smiled at the sneaky, old lady.

He could almost imagine their marriage. How it might have seemed than he was the decision maker of the house, when he was really the one who needed her. He looked in the direction Elise had left. She seemed perfect for the now deceased school caretaker. His eyes saddened as he thought about how to tell her how sorry he was without making her cry. Without tearing open all the old wounds.

She returned with the same secretive smile. "My husband preferred coffee too. He said that tea wasn't good without sugar and that rotted your teeth." Her slightly worn voice sounded so sweet to Ben's eyes as he watched the little, old lady huffing over the weight of the 5 pound heavy coffee tray.

"Lemme help." He rushed forward and eased the tray away from her. She smiled and plumped down in her chair. The one sitting right next to Jonesy's old one.

He placed the tray down and looked up in time to see a tear crawl down the Elise's face. his face fell as he sat down on a small stool in front of her.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." He felt his eyes burn.

She stared at him as if she could see right through him. "I know you are, sweety. He talked about you." She smiled through the tears dripping down her face.

Ben's face fell in surprise. "He….-He did?"

She smiled a little bigger as more tears dripped from her bright eyes. "Usually he got your name wrong, but he remembered you. He told me about the one kid in school that he would have liked when he was younger." She chuckled softly and redirected her eyes to his tee shirt. "I think he liked you because of your good taste." She pointed to his shirt when Ben frowned.

"He liked AC/DC?" Ben asked surprised.

Elise nodded as another silent tear fell down her face. Ben found himself tearing up too. _Damnit! He was supposed to be the one holding it together for her!_

"He has at least a dozen of old records in the back. I never really liked them so I don't use them much." She wiped the tears from her face and smiled at Ben. "In fact I think he would have liked you to have them."

All her grief seemed momentarily forgotten. Ben tried to smile through the tears falling down his face. His breath hitched when she leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had to feel this way, kid." Her little voice shook again as she cried.

"I'm not." Ben did smile this time. "He was…." He thought of the words to sum up the weird man. Nice wasn't how he could be described. Emotional wasn't either. "He was fun." Ben said. By the look that suddenly lit up the old woman's face he figured she knew what he meant.

"Not intentionally though." She added with a laugh. "He was such a doofus sometimes." She chuckled and then started laughing in earnest. "You should have seen him on our wedding day." She was really laughing away, but somehow managed to keep on telling the story. "He was so nervous. Like he was marrying a complete stranger. He was a wreck!" She could hardly breathe with all her laughing.

Ben found himself smiling.

"He kept taking these little swigs of his pocket flask when he thought no one was lookin'." Her hoarse voice hitched with laughter. "But we all saw and he looked so cute trying to hide it." Her voice was squeaky with mirth.

Ben chuckled against the tears. "Most brides would have been pretty upset."

"Oh I was pissed!" She squinted as she fought through another laugh. And then she suddenly stilled. "And then he said the strangest thing. I knew he was drunk, but suddenly the haze seemed to lift and there he was. The man I was marrying and going to spend the rest of my life with." She looked at Ben with serious eyes and leaned more forward. Ben mimicked her move unconsciously.

"He looked at me like I'm looking at you right now and he asked: Will you still love me tomorrow?" She took a deep breath, but didn't take her eyes off Ben.

"What did you answer?" He asked in a sad voice.

"Forever and ever." Her voice drifted on the air as she relived the bittersweet memory. "In that moment he looked like he had just won a million dollars. Like he couldn't believe what had been given to him." She frowned almost in regret. "Like he couldn't believe that someone like me could ever love someone like him…."

Ben watched silently. He felt that she wasn't done and kept quiet.

"I tried to convince him that I did, every single day for the rest of our lives." Her voice still sounded like a forgotten memory being retold. "But I'm not sure he ever believed me."

Ben reached over and grabbed the old woman's hands in his. "He did." He said in a voice full of conviction.

Her face both fell and lifted in a strange expression of both joy and heartbreak. "Thank you, son." She leached up and hugged him close to her.

He hugged her back. She didn't cry or sob like he had with Dean. She just hugged him. Thanking him for coming. For sharing with her. He just kept quiet and let her. When she let him go she stared at him for a moment and stood up with great trouble. "C'mon let's get you those records." She said with a smile.

Ben left the house with a bag full of old rock albums. Elise hadn't just given him the AC/DC albums, but every other one in the room that she didn't like or know. He looked down in the back with wide eyes. He really needed to get a record player now. But stopped as the reality slammed into him. Where would he put it?

He was leaving Cicero. Leaving Indiana all together if he could get that far with his money. He hadn't told Keo or Katie. He didn't want them to know. It was better this way. They would be mad at him for leaving and too pissed to follow. He hiked up the albums and headed home.

His mother was out. A quick check of her schedule confirmed that she was busy with her afternoon yoga class. He hurried to his room and packed everything he thought he might need. He had two hunting knives. One stainless steel and one pure iron. He had thought about buying a gun, but knew how his mother felt about weapons in the house. Even the one she wouldn't have known about. So Ben had respected her wishes and kept from buying one. He did however still have a stake dipped in lamb's blood for killing of a certain trickster. He grabbed a few articles of clothes, underwear, his toothbrush and shampoo. A pair of old sneakers were stuffed into the bag along with the clothes. He also grabbed his books on the supernatural he had stolen from the library years earlier. He unplugged his computer and stuffed that into the second bag too. Most of his electronic equipment was left behind. He stared longingly at his DVD as he was about to leave the room. He sighed and stuffed his Mp3-player and phone in his pocket.

With one last glance at the bare room her shut the door and left his childhood home behind.


	9. A sad farewell

_Sam Winchester sat in the chair of the crappy motel room. His head was in his hands rubbing in slow circles as a headache slowly surfaced. He was tired, hungry, and bored but he had to do research for this damn hunt, and so far he had absolutely nothing. He heard his brother come in the room followed with the smell of fries. He sighed and got up from his crouched position behind the mesmerising computer screen. Finally he could get something to eat. _

"_Got your food Sammy, better eat it while it's hot." Dean handed his brother the greasy bag and sat down with his own. _

"_Alright…" Sam said as if only humouring his older brother. Truth was he could barely see straight any more from the hours spent behind the computer, the headache and the constant feeling of unease in the pit ot his stomach. Or was it worry? _

"_So you find anything?" Dean asked between bites. _

"_Nope… Nothing useful anyway." Sam leaned back in his chair and took a bite out of his greasy burger with exhausted pleasure. _

"_Damnit. Guess we're back to where we started, which is absolutely nowhere…!" Dean grumbled, looking at Sam. _

"_Well we know one thing…" Sam left Dean hanging and the older brother had to calm himself before rushing Sam for the answer. _

_He sighed and took another bite. __Patience…_He mentally grumbled at himself. "What do you mean 'we know one thing'?" Dean asked with only a slight tinge of annoyance. 

"That we better act fast or we'll have another murder on our hands." Sam looked up with a concerned look his brother knew all too well. 

"What do you suggest we do?" His food didn't seem all that interesting any more. 

"We go back to square one, and start our research, all over again." 

Sam eyed his brother and saw him frown his nose regretfully. "You've got to be freakin' kidding me…." Dean sat down on the bed closest to the door, next to his brother and brought his food. Sam looked up with a dark look in his eyes that Dean too happily returned. 

- 

A couple of hours went by and Dean found nothing useful in his dad's journal. He was about to call it quits when his brother suddenly shocked him out of his gloomy mood. 

"Ah-hah!" 

"What?" Dean straightened and almost threw the journal aside in favour of the distraction. 

"I think I found something." 

"You better have found something, what is it?" Dean got up from his place on the bed and came to stand behind his brother eyeing the screen over his shoulder. 

"I think Ben was right Dean. It's doesn't look like a spirit…It looks like a trickster to me." 

Dean swallowed convulsively and tried not to think how he had hurt the kid. "Okay, what kind of trickster? My god, It better not be the same one that—" 

"DON'T say it Dean." Sam said harshly and made Dean arch an eyebrow at him. 

"Anyway, I think it's a Hagondes." 

"Which is…?" 

"Which is a cannibalistic trickster and a umm…uh-h…." Sam stopped when he read the last word. 

"Come on Sammy, get on with it" Dean said urging his brother and nudging his shoulder brusquely. 

"A clown….. spirit….." Sam said stopping midsentence as his pathological fears kicked in at sight of the word 'clown'. His irrational fears still very much a reality. He still wouldn't set foot in McDonald's. _Irrational?? Yeah! Right! Clowns EAT people!_ He knew he was right and no one would ever convince him otherwise. 

"Are you freakin' kidding me, Sammy? A clown spirit?" Dean asked and rolled his eyes in a strange mix of disbelief and the, not completely unfounded, thought 'typical'. "Man this hunt just keeps on getting better and better." 

"It's not funny, Dean." Sam said trying to defend himself even though his brother technically hadn't even begun ribbing him about it yet. "At least I'm not scared of planes." He snapped at his snickering brother. 

"I didn't say anything, Sam-" 

"Yeah well… you were going to:" 

Dean grinned behind his brother's back. "Well planes crash, Sam." 

"And as you may remember, clowns kill, Dean" Sam said in a serious voice that only widened Dean's grin. 

"Whatever. Think what you want to think, Sam" He said and chuckled. When Sam turned an angry glare at his he cleared his throat and sobered slightly. "So read me the rest of what you got, Sammich." 

Sam wrinkled his nose at the new nickname, but returned his attention to the computer. "Well, it says this trickster is an Iroquois one. It is a Hagondes, but from what I can tell it's gone rogue. And apparently it's started picking off people before their time if it thinks they're unworthy of the life given to them. It really hates humans more specifically a certain type of human." 

"Lemme guess: dicks." 

"No not exactly." Sam drawled out the response and garnered another shove from his brother. "Losers. People it sees as losers." He frowned when he almost saw Dean grin. He glared and cut his brother off before he said something demeaning. _As if I could actually stop him from saying it if he wanted to: 'Well then I guess we'll just use you as bait little brother', with a big freakin smile on his face_. Sam picked up his lost train of thought and continued. "Which in reality means that it hates everyone it sees as unworthy. And then it kills them in the most _ridiculous_ ways possible." 

"Such as being electrocuted to death by furry little rats." 

"They were moles Dean, not rats-" Sam corrected in a snotty voice. 

"Anyway, what does this thing want with Ben's school and why is it there?" 

"Well I looked up information on the school and apparently Ben's school was built on an Indian burial ground, which…creates more problems for us." 

"Great, I thought everyone knew_ not_ to build on Indian burial grounds. _Especially_ freakin' schools!" Dean felt his face heating and forced down a deep breath. 

"They're just people. Do you really expect them to look up the history of the place before they build something on top of it?" Sam asked. 

"Well, they should at least have SOME common sense. They could've checked the web." Dean rubbed his face and knew he was acting a little too childish about it all. It was too late to do anything about it now. _Unless they tore the building down?_

"Dean…" Sam sighed and thought of the right way to phrase his thoughts. "Ben's school was built fifty years ago. They didn't have the web back then." 

"Never mind, Sammy." Dean grumbled and stopped pacing in little circles. "Just tell me how we kill this damn thing" He sighed and leaned back in his chair. 

"Well, its powers are invisibility, razor sharp teeth and claws, glowing eyes, and it can move in absolute silence. Also it said something about altering appearance and some sites even mentioned the ability to change reality." 

"Sound familiar?" 

"Yeah…" 

Dean straightened and started pacing around the room again. "Well that's all very nice, Sam, but how do we actually kill it?" 

"It's weaknesses are a fear of light, doesn't say if it's natural or all light, salt and a shot to the heart. Now I don't know how that would kill it and I have no idea what kind of bullets you would need to kill a trickster." 

"Silver?" Dean threw in his two cents. 

"Possibly. It's also supposedly vulnerable to decapitation and starvation." 

"Okay, then, what do you suggest 'cause I'm feeling in the mood for a little chopping." Dean sniffed and squared his shoulders when Sam turned to glare at him. 

"You can't just walk up to a trickster and say: Hello, please hold still while I cut off your head. 

"Whatever. You just don't wanna get close to it because it looks like a clown." 

"It doesn't say that- just says 'clown spirit'." 

"And that means…?" 

Sam huffed and sagged. Dean heard him mumble something under his breath and smiled mirthfully behind his back. He was gonna have so much fun with this. 

"A Hagondes is still very powerful. We might have to weaken it first." Sam replied looking back at his brother suspiciously. 

"Great. Let's go kill this sonuvabitch and get the hell out of dodge." Dean was already getting his jacket and keys. 

Sam felt like they were missing something. He felt guilty and knew his brother felt it too. And he knew the reason for the cold in the pit of his stomach. "Dean-" 

"I know what you're gonna say, Sam, and the answer is no." Dean interrupted in a harsh voice before his brother could finish his sentence. He knew what his brother was going to suggest because he wanted it desperately too. He knew where the guilt came from. Who had put it there. 

"Alright." Sam replied quietly as he looked at his brother in worry. They both wanted to get out of Cicero and leave the past behind, but both wanted to make amends before they left. Sam didn't want to leave fearing that Lisa would never call him or Dean again in fear of another argument. He knew Ben would never want to talk to either of them after what Dean had told the kid. The bridges they never knew existed had suddenly been ripped out from under them and now all they saw was the abyss that lay beyond. 

SnSnSnSnSnSnSn 

Ben stood in front of Keola's house and sighed. In his hands he held a letter written to his friend. One he never intended for Keo to read. One he would never deliver. 

_Keo,_

_Things can't just go on like they used to any longer. I feel like I'm falling apart. And what hurts me the most is the knowledge that I can't afford such a luxury. I just can't. And it seems like I'm constantly carrying a ton of bricks on my shoulders_

_I'm fed up. I'm tired of living a life not meant for me. I feel like a liar and a frauds for even pretending to be normal. I feel like I'm standing on a bridge that's burning and the truth is I just wanna jump off. You won't get to read this, Keo. And you'll probably think I'm going down some dark path- hell I probably am._

_I keep having these dreams. Dreams about deserted country roads. I'm on my way to free myself from whatever's pulling me back. I really want you to know how much I've valued our friendship over the years. You have been my most loyal companion and I'll never forget that. You know that, Keo. Please tell me you know that…_

_Right after the changelings when I was really sad, isolated, lost or hurting, you always comforted me. I still remember our first hunt together. We're blood-brothers old friend and nothing can change that. I remember the hunts we were successful with and the ones we messed up. And how we always found some way to cover up those…messy failures._

Ben sighed deeply. There wasn't room for failure in this game. Dean had been right about that. The most dangerous thing for hunters was amateurs who thought they were doing them a favour. Ben vowed never to become a failure. He would never risk the lives of his friends. 

_It's hard to realize that some people in your life won't be in it forever. Or for even a moment. And until you understand why I left, don't bother to come looking for me._

_He wiped an angry tear from his cheek and glanced up at the house looming in front of him._

'_Goodbye, Brother_

_Ben'._

Ben folded the letter as he pondered whether to leave it or take it with him. He took one step onto Keo's gravel drive way and flinched when the gravel crunched under his boots. He stepped back and crushed the letter in his fisted hand. With jerky movements he threw it on the ground for fait to deal with and ran off, leaving his friend's house for good. 

He kept walking in a brisk pace trying to keep the last thing he needed to do before he left, out of his mind. He still needed to say goodbye to Kate. 

Ben stood in front of the two story house and stared. In his mind he imagined how he would have said goodbye if he'd had the chance. If he could have been sure she wouldn't have followed him. As it was now he wasn't going to say goodbye to her. She wouldn't get a letter like Keo might if the wind didn't carry it away. She wouldn't get a teary goodbye or softly spoken words. It would only hurt a hundred times more if he had to do it face to face. The wind rustled the trees around him. He had a clear view to her room and started imagining what he would have said to her. 

'_Kate…._

In his mind he saw her long, dark hair as it flowed softly in the wind. Her teasing eyes as she smiled softly at him. 

_Even though you can't hear me or see me, I want you to know that I love you…_

His breath hitched at the thought of what she would say. 

…_but I'm leaving. _

_I know I shouldn't because there's so much I need to finish. But I have to go and there's nothing anyone can say to stop me._

He wondered if she would even fight him about leaving. If she would even care? 

_You know, some say that you should let go the ones you love._

Ben frowned as a clear tear rolled down his cheek. He quickly brushed it away and cleared his throat. 

_But I don't want to let go of you. I don't want to forget you. Every fibre of me is screaming for me to hold on to you. Every ounce tells me I'm wrong to forget you, so I won't. I promise. Time can make you forget me, but time will always make me love you much more than ever before._

He closed his eyes and tipped his head back. Slowly he reopened them and gazed at the rolling clouds. 

_Damn, I've known you forever, Kate. Everything we've ever been through, everything we've ever done…. It can never be forgotten, no matter what happens. It will never be erased from my mind._

He flinched when he saw a shadow walk by in the house. He saw the shadow move past and into the room he knew belonged to Katie. He watched as the shape sat down in front of a screen. The blue light from the computer glowed coldly through the curtain. 

_But what I've learned is that goodbyes will always hurt, pictures can never replace having been there and all the good and bad times we've been though can never be forgotten._

He felt a chill course through his body. He had the presumed location of the trickster and just needed to get his bus ticket. He knew Dean and Sam didn't believe that it wasn't a ghost, but he knew. He felt it. The same thing that had happened to his school was happening to other schools too. Strange and downright stupid deaths. He looked back up when the shadow moved to the window and pulled back the curtain. He slowly pulled back under the shadows of the maple trees along the side of the road. There he watched from the cover of the shade, as Kate looked out into the day with sad eyes. He saw her lift up a cell phone, press a digit and put it to her ear. He felt his own phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out already knowing who was trying to reach him. Not his mother. She was still a work. Not Keo. 

The display flashed with a name. _Katie._ Ben sighed and used every ounce of control not to answer the call. He looked back up when the quivering stopped. Kate was staring at the phone with a frown. Her blue eyes shining with questions, as she thought of possible reasons for him not to answer her call. He guessed she would never imagine it was because he was staring at her from the shelter of darkened trees right outside her own house. 

_Words can never replace my feelings for you. I'm so sorry for everything I've ever put you through. I truly, truly am, but I know there's no way to erase all of it. _

_I know this weekend was terrible and it was my fault that I put you and Keola through that crap with the trickster. I know you could've gotten seriously hurt, but I just didn't realize that. You know, if you heard me saying any of this, you would probably think I was a sissy. Or crazy. Don't know which is worse…._

He placed the phone back in his pocket and readjusted his back pack. He realized he would never talk to her again. That he would never return unless he was somehow forced. 

_I feel it pulling at me to get out. To hunt._

But at the same time he felt her pulling at him to stay. To remain and make it work. For a second he honestly reconsidered. Why should he sacrifice his life to kill things that other never even knew about? Why should he give up everything he wanted? The answer came too fast and too confident. Because no one else would. 

_I know now that I'm a hunter. I'll never live a normal apple pie life without hurting the ones I love, especially you._

He watched her settle down in her window sill and watched the drifting clouds. He smiled as she stared softly into the flowing shapes. A small smile spread on her face too as if she felt him smiling at her. If he left she would have a chance at the life Ben had never felt like a part of. She could be safe. He looked at his wrist watch and frowned. If he wanted to catch the bus he would have to hurry. 

_Damnit! why is this so hard! Why the hell does it take a second to say hello to someone, but forever to say goodbye?_

He looked back up at her one last time. Memorizing her face. 

_I guess it's just, having to find the right words to say. I will always love you Kate now and forever, and I want you to have the happiest life you can possibly have. I have nothing to offer you. And I've realized, the hardest part of loving someone, is having to say goodbye._

"Goodbye, Kate." He whispered softly. 

_I love you._

"Be safe…." He turned and snuck away from the house as he felt his phone vibrating again in his pocket. 

_Without you….I'm nothing._


	10. Altillisa Cougers

Ben sat silently on the bleachers, overlooking a large lawn. It was a Friday – two days since he had left home. Two days filled with frantic phone calls from his mother and his friends. After listening to the pleading messages from his mother he had almost flinched when she started threatening. She threatened to call everyone from the police to the military down on him. He had ignored them all, opting in the end, to turn off his phone. Now he sat there. Enjoying what he would've normally called a nice Friday afternoon and watched the beginnings of a high school football game. The sun shone down from a lightly clouded sky.

The irony of the moment struck him and left a bitter taste. He had never bothered with football games at his old school. But now he was voluntarily sitting during one simply because he was hunting a monster. _"Simply"_ his mind pointed out with stinging sarcasm. He frowned briefly and stuck a hand under his jacket to make sure the wooden stake was where he left it. Its coarse surface brushed against his calloused fingers and briefly reminded him of what he had left behind.

Then in a sudden shock the noise level rose. A small marching band walked onto the field, playing for all they were worth. This was apparently what made the town worth living in. Its high school football games and not much else. This town was so small that everyone actually knew _everyone_. The welcome sign had said welcome to Atalissa , Iowa; population 427. But looking around now, he wondered if that wasn't overdoing it slightly. He let his eyes travel over the crowd searching out suspicious faces. He found none. Out of everyone there he was the only one not smiling and laughing. He frowned briefly and took a drink from the blue Gatorade bottle sitting next to his knee.

"Hi."

He flinched and managed to spill some of the soft drink over himself at the surprise attack. A young girl stood beside him with a wide smile and intelligent, brown eyes.

"Hello." He sat the bottle down and cleared his throat uncomfortably as she took its place next to him. Her knee barely brushing against his.

"I'm Emily." She reached out a hand and turned the power of her smile up a few notches.

"Uhh… Hi. Ben." He whirred his head. "My name is Ben."

"Hi, Ben." She released his hand and returned to watching the game. "I haven't seen you before. You new at this school?" She didn't take her eyes off the game, but Ben still felt like he was being studied.

"Yeah." He swallowed and tried not to look at the girl. She was pretty. Obviously beautiful. Almost like she was too perfect. Her perfect hair flowed softly down her back. He wild, bright eyes shone with intelligence. Her clothes fit her like a hand in a glove. Her slim body curved in all the right places. "Just here for the game." He swallowed again.

"Liar."

He turned to her with a guarded frown and felt his fingers tighten around the stake hidden under his jacket, "What?"

"You're not here watching the game. The players have been warming up for the last ten minutes and you've barely glanced down. All you're focused on are the people sitting on the bleachers." She smiled as she felt him staring at her.

"Sounds like I'm not the only one watching the people instead of the game."

She shrugged and pushed her tan locks over her shoulder. "I've never really liked football. Only come to support the school, really." She glanced over at Ben. "Wanna give me a sip?" She gestured to the Gatorade.

Ben reached down without taking his eyes off the game. "Yeah sure."

She sipped and stared at his face. "You don't talk a lot do you?"

He glanced at her and back at the game. "No."

She smiled and handed back the drink. Unknown to her he had spiked the soda with a splash of holy water. She passed the test and he was able to relax a little more. He looked around the bleachers and noticed a group of beautiful teenage girls casting hidden glances and giggling at him and Emily. He frowned when they noticed him staring and turned. They were whispering and giggling to themselves. The light frown stayed on his face, but he turned and started scanning the crowd. He noticed another group of teens also staring. Albeit a little less conspicuous. They seemed more relaxed than the group of girls still giggling and gossiping. "Friends of yours?" He gestured to the group of perfectly dressed teenage girls.

Emily smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

"And how about those?" He gestured to the less conspicuous group.

"Hell no." She frowned so fiercely Ben found himself mimicking her for a second.

With a questioning frown he looked back at Emily.

"They're freaks." She bobbed her head towards them without hiding her distain.

Ben knew what kind of girl Emily was. The elite kind. The popular girl. The top of the hierarchy, if he had to guess. She was the one who got first dibs on all cute or popular guys. Her friends were her entourage, there for no other reason than to serve her.

"They seem nice enough." He smiled down to one from the outcast group and grinned as she smiled back. Her smile lit up her face like a supernova "Excuse me." He stood up and started walking towards the group of teens.

Behind him Emily stared with disbelief as he quickly made his way down to the renegade group. "Hello." He came to a halt in front of the girl who had smiled to him. She was pretty. Not in the same perfect way Emily was, but she had a glow about her. Her black hair hung loosely around her head. Her black clothes and dark makeup clearly made a statement for people to back off. But her smile told him all he needed to know. "Mind if I sit here?"

One of the guys in the group answered before the girl had a chance.

"Why don't you go sit with your little friend up there?" He gestured to Emily, watching them with a frown and matched it with a frown of his own.

"I'd rather sit with you guys." Ben said earnestly. He was rewarded with a handful of faces studying him.

"Why are you here?" The same guy asked again.

"Lucas!" The girl hissed. The same one who had smiled at him.

Ben just flashed a lopsided smile. "I'm just traveling through town and heard that the game was the place to be." Ben told the lie smoothly. He had always been good at bluffing. Always won at poker playing against Keo. The thought brought a frown fluttering over his face, but he quickly hid it with another relaxed smile.

"Dude, you're like the same age as us." Another guy from the group spoke up. "Don't you go to school?"

"Ignore them." The girl, who had smiled, answered. "I'm Karly." She reached out her hand and he shook it with a smitten smile. "Please sit down. I wouldn't force those harpies on my worst enemy." She nodded over to Emily who had joined her group and was watching them with a frown. Probably gossiping her heart out.

Ben sighed in relief – whether real or not he couldn't tell – and sat down. "Thanks."

The one named Lucas shifted in his seat and glanced at Ben. "Hi. Sorry for being a dick, but ya know, small town like this we tend to be a little careful who we let into our group." He grinned slightly and extended his hand.

"Don't blame ya." Ben glanced back at the popular group with a frown. "So you always come to the games?" He asked as casual as he could. He noticed that Karly tried her best not to get noticed. He thought for a second he saw her blush, but she hid it behind her thick, black hair.

Lucas answered. "Yeah. It's the best way to spend Fridays around these parts. Or – like some of the idiots like to do – go deer hunting in the forests around here."

"You hunt?" Ben asked a little more intrigued.

"No way dude!" The skeptical guy from before spoke up. "I'm Jim." He reached out a hand which Ben shook.

Their quiet conversation was interrupted by the football team suddenly hooting over a goal. Ben grinned and shook his head. He had never mixed well with jocks. He never really mixed well with anyone. He was a chronic loner which he had actually come to love during high school. He'd gotten to know Keo when they were just kids. Keo had never mixed well with groups either. Ben remembered the day he met him. They were about seven and Keo had managed to get into a fight with a very angry looking group of bullies. The guy Ben already hated from when he was younger. Ryan Humphrey and his gang. A sad smile pulled the corners of Ben's mouth up as he stared at the football teams fighting each other.

Unknown to him Karly was looking over at him with a focused stare. "For someone who doesn't like jocks you sure seem interested in them." She said wistfully.

Ben glanced over at her and tried to banish the sad expression, but didn't quite succeed. "Jus' thinkin' about stuff." He shrugged it off as he noticed a couple of the other kids glancing over at him.

"Where are you from?" Lucas asked and threw him a look that said _let's change the subject_. Ben returned a look of appreciation.

" Cicero , Indiana ."

"Long way from home?" Jim turned on his bench seat to be more involved in the conversation they apparently found more interesting than the game.

"Yeah I guess. Ben tried to shrug it off, but fretted when Lucas' face suddenly grew a shade paler with shock.

"Jesus. You're from _that_ school." He looked at his two friends with wide eyes. "You're from the school where some guy got electrocuted. My parents looked into it because I have a cousin who goes to that school."

"Who?" Ben asked.

"Uh his name is Daniel Rayners." He scratched his neck.

"He's your cousin huh?" Ben's eyes narrowed at the thought of him. Ben knew perfectly well who that was because it was one of the reason's he didn't like jocks. Daniel was one of Ryan's closest friends.

Lucas noticed the cold look in Ben's eyes and smiled. "Now I know you're from where you say you are. No one with brains who's ever met the guy could possibly like him." He grinned when Ben unconsciously wrinkled his nose.

"This the guy that was once over at your house for the holidays?" Karly asked on a whim.

Lucas nodded and quickly moved onto another topic. "So who was the victim?" He asked softly.

Ben swallowed past a lump and blinked back the burning in his eyes at the thought of Jonesy and all the ugly memories his death brought up. "Uh Jonesy Mills, he was the janitor at the school."

"You sound like you knew the guy." Karly asked softly.

Ben nodded jerkily and released a relieved breath when their conversation was once again interrupted by hooting and shouts of joy. "Looks like we're winning." Lucas observed in a flat voice.

Ben couldn't bring himself to look at any of the kids casting cautious glances at him. He kept his eyes trained on the game he didn't really care about.

"You two were friends?" Jim asked unabashed.

"Jim." Karly corrected. He cast his eyes down in embarrassment as did Lucas. "I'm sorry. You obviously have feelings about this and if you don't wanna talk about it it's fine." She smiled quickly when Ben glanced over at her.

"H-He was…." Ben huffed. "… a really weird man." He snorted a laugh. "A real jerk. He didn't pretend to like anyone he didn't really like. He was… cool." Ben added as an afterthought.

Lucas smiled softly. "Sounds that way."

Ben grinned back. "Yeah. His wife gave me all his old records." His eyebrows shot up as he remembered the records he had brought with him despite having a record player.

"Oh yeah?" Jim turned with a raised eyebrow.

"All the greatest. AC/DC, Hendrix, The Stones, a couple of Kiss." He huffed again whilst smiling. "Great records."

"Sounds like it." Karly said, clearly taken away.

Ben smiled genuinely at her and reveled as she smiled back.

"So, no offence dude, but why'd you come here of all places?" Jim asked and earned a scowl from Karly.

"Just needed to some space." Ben's smile fell again and he felt himself sinking further into the depressing thoughts always lurking beneath the surface. "Felt it pulling at me to get out ya know."

"Yeah." Lucas said pensively and had Ben studying him with renewed interest. He prided himself in his ability to identify and befriend good people. It was a gift.

Suddenly a sound shocked him out of his silent reverie.

-

**5 minutes earlier**

Terrance reached in a paw and scratched his neck hidden under the heavy outfit. He was the Atalissa Cougars team mascot and usually enjoyed the gig. The cougar outfit was heavy and had developed a distinct odor of sweat over the years. He didn't really like school enough to get particularly involved in all the extra curriculum stuff. He would never even have tried out for the team if his principal hadn't threatened him to do so. The threat of '_too low grades and not enough spirit'_ had persuaded him. Well he had tried out and failed miserably like he knew he would. So as a sympathetic gesture the coach had given him the part as team mascot. He was quite content with it. He didn't really have to do anything other than clown around and he did that very well already. Before every game he would sneak out his little flask and take a few swigs of his father's secret stash. The stink of sweat drowned out the smell of whisky quite well.

He scratched his neck again and adjusted the cougar head. He was under the bleachers when he heard the team shouting in joy over a well placed kick, no doubt. He jumped a couple times in the same spot and prepared to get exited about the damn game. "Yeah you are…. C'mon…" The internal dialogue didn't stay completely internal as he hyped himself up. When another roar sounded he started for the exit under the bleachers.

Suddenly, without warning, pain shot through his body and all went black.

-

**5 minutes before that**

Sam and Dean were walking around the school, glancing up and down the halls. When their search of Ben's school and the cemetery didn't come up with anything they had widened their search for unexplained events. Sam had searched for schools built on Native American preserves and found Atalissa High. They believed that if the trickster had roots to Native Americans it would probably stick to the places it knew. Indian holy grounds seemed like the place to be. So the brothers had taken a shot in the dark and gone to that school despite any evidence. It had been Sam's freaky hunches that had brought them there, if Dean was being honest with himself. But then again, Sam's hunches usually turned out to be legit.

They walked down the vacant halls and flinched when they heard hoots coming from the football field. With a shared glance they knew they were both thinking the same thing. _Friday afternoon, football game._

They each had a stake hidden under thin jackets, a gun filled with silver bullets, a pen light just in case as Sam had said. Sam also had a copy of the ritual to call forth the Great Spirit and ask it to trap the Hagondes. And if that turned out to be a dud, he'd even found a spell to trap the Hagondes without begging to the Great Spirit first. Both the rituals were purely speculator of course. The shotguns filled with salt had been left back in the car to avoid too much suspicion. Sam glanced down his barely hidden arsenal and huffed. _Smooth_ wasn't the word he would've used to describe them.

Dean gestured to the double doors leading through the gym, the locker rooms and out onto the field. With a shared glance they both made their way through the doors.

-

Ben darted wide eyes up and caught sights of something he never imagined seeing in his life. Including changelings trying to eat him.

Across the field he suddenly saw a huge mountain lion sprinting towards a couple of players benched during the game. He heard Taryn's group of girls screaming as the lion went straight for the teens and tackled them both in one jump. He jumped out of his seat and started jumping down one row of benches after the other, never missing a step. From his back he pulled out the large stake, but just as he reached the final step a familiar yell stopped him dead in his tracks.

"BEN!!! NO!!!"

He flinched to a stop and turned his wide eyes in the direction of the shout. The voice was deep and gruff. It commanded attention like a general's would. Only one person that he could remember had that kind of natural authority. Dean.

Then suddenly Sam's voice sounded. "It's not the trickster!!!" He frowned first at the panicked voices coming from Dean and Sam suddenly standing there beside each other. Then the frown turned to confusion as the statement soaked in. _Not the trickster?_ He looked out and saw the gigantic mountain lion looming over two dead running backs in a pool of blood. It's huge claws were ripping through tissue and bone as it mangled the two bodies.

_No the trickster!? Then_ _what the hell_-

His thought was interrupted by the ear deafening sound of the lion's roar. "Ben!!" He heard his newly acquired friends shouting with pure terror in their voices. "What the hell are you doing??!!" He glanced back just in time to see Lucas' and Karly's eyes widening in fear.

Then he felt a mass of pure muscle crush down on his chest and knock him down. In a spray of dirt and blood he went down with the mountain lion looming over him.

"BEN!"

Dean's voice filtered through the haze of pain that spread out from his chest and into every nerve of his bruised body.

"NO!!"

Dean saw the person he last expected to see at this exact place, this exact minute in time, running towards the huge mountain lion with a blood tinged stake in his hands. Dean's yell succeeded in stopping Ben dead in his tracks and attracting the attention of the mountain lion for a few seconds. Ben's distraction was dearly paid for. The mountain lion looked at Dean and almost smiled before it suddenly lunged for the teen. The 1500 pound creature lunged at him with claws stretched out and teeth bared. Both Sam and Dean sprung into action and started sprinting towards the majestic creature with wordless roars of denial, pain and pure fear. Dean vaguely heard a couple of the teens, out of the dozens watching the game, shout out for Ben to stop, but the warning came too late. He saw Ben turn his gaze just as the creature lunged and sank its claws into his chest upon impact.

Lucas flinched when the creature sank into the new kid. He watched with horror as two men sprinted over to their newly acquired friend. He knew he had to do something, but the drive to put action behind the thought was hard to act on. For a second the world stopped. The lumps of torn flesh that had for a minute ago had been two tough football players were now nothing more than a spot on the ground. Two of the toughest guys he had ever met had been downed as simple as with the flick of the wrist. The two running backs were dead before they hit the ground. The entire football team had all frozen in shock and fear at the attack. The coach stood rooted to the spot and stared fixedly at the two young teens already killed by the wild creature.

Sam gained ground on his brother, stretching his long legs the best he knew. He sprinted towards the mountain lion looming over Ben with fear filling his heart. With the force of speed behind him he plunged into the cougar just as it was about to sink one of its giant paws into Ben. He swung the stake at the animal as he crashed into it, oblivious to his own safety. He heard Dean shouting in the back, but didn't stop even as he plowed into the creature, outweighing him with several hundred pounds.

He swung the stake like a bat and caught the animal over the head with a powerful swing. "Sammy!!" Dean shouted as he sprinted over to the flurry.

Sam pushed the cougar back and rolled past it. The creature recovered with an angry whirring of its head and bared teeth. "Sam!!!" He heard the panic in his brother's voice.

"Check on Ben!" Sam shouted without taking his eyes off the cougar.

"Call an ambulance NOW!" Dean shouted to the coach, but noticed that it was a young guy standing on the bleachers who responded.

"_I need an ambulance to the stadium now!..._"

He kept an eye on his brother dancing around the cougar making sure to keep just out of reach for its long claws. "Ben!" He yelled, but to his dread he got no response. "Ben! Open your eyes!" He was bleeding from several more or less severe wounds on his chest. What worried him the most was the fact that he might have hit his head. With gentle hands and an eye on his brother swinging at the cougar with his one stake, he shifted Ben's head and hissed when he found an open wound gushing into the ground. "Shit." The boy who had had enough sense of mind to call for an ambulance came down followed by a young woman.

"How is he? Is he alive?" The questions went ignored by Dean who constantly kept an eye on the wild animal who for all intense and purposes seemed scarily aware of the things going on around it. The kid kept out of Dean's way as he gently peeled back Ben's eyelids and checked the responses. He hissed another curse when Ben's irises didn't subtract fully.

"Is he alright!?" The guy demanded as a couple other friends came down.

"Do you know him?" Dean asked instead as he eyed his brother still dancing around the creature.

"No. N-No not really. He just came over and sat down not fifteen minutes ago. We started talking. He seemed nice, but I-" His voice drifted off when several yelps drew his attention to Sam.

The cougar had swung out and caught Sam across the left arm, leaving four deep, bleeding cuts. Dean jumped up with a command to the three teens sitting with Ben. "Stay with him!" He yelled without looking back.

He ran over to the mountain lion, grabbing a water cooler as he ran. He swung it towards the creature's head and hit with a satisfying hollow thump. The animal barely faltered as is turned and stared at Dean. If he hadn't been convinced it was more than a simple cougar before, he was now. The look in the creature's eyes was nothing but pure frustration as it eyed Dean and Sam before suddenly doing a 180 and running off. It headed straight for the cluster of jocks in the middle of the field and Dean panicked.

"Stop!" He hollered with his gun drawn. To his and everyone watching's surprise the creature skidded to a halt. It turned to him with a half grin before it turned fully and started stalking back. "Shit!" He hissed at himself as the creature stalked closer._ Why do I always have to open my big mouth?!_

"Shoot it!" He heard someone shouting. Sam was lying a few feet from him in a pool of blood that was quickly expanding. Ben was unconscious with a bleeding head injury, no doubt severe. Dean had a split second to ponder his options as the animal suddenly lunged forward in a dead on sprint. Coming directly for him.

He didn't even register pulling his finger back. He felt the jerk of the recoil and the flinch that traveled up his arm. He barely blinked before the bullet had hit its mark in the animal's shoulder. It tumbled to the ground in a heap of soil, loose tufts of grass and fur. Dean lowered the gun slowly as the creature started squirming. But not from the gunshot wound. It almost seemed as if it was seizing. Dean held the gun trained on the cougar's chest as he approached the writhing animal with caution. His suspicions from before were quickly confirmed as the creature started convulsing and its muscles started shifting under its skin.

As it started transforming back to its former shape he lowered the gun completely and hurried back past the two football players. He knew it was pointless, but reached down never the less to feel for a pulse. Their jugulars had practically been ripped to shreds. He found nothing to indicate they were alive. He rushed over and kneeled next to Sam just as the sound of sirens was heard in the background. "Sammy?"

Sam's eyelids fluttered as he tried to convey something to his brother. "I need you to open your eyes for me, buddy. C'mon." He glanced over at Ben who was now completely unconscious. He then started going over his brother's injuries. Besides a little bump on the head it seemed the worst was the four gashes running with the length of his arm. Blood was flowing quite freely, but they didn't look too deep. He knew vertical arm-wounds were serious if they were too deep. These didn't look like had ruptured any major veins. He flipped off his jacket and ripped off his grey shirt. He tied it around the wounds to stem the blood flow a bit. He knew enough to not tie the dressing too tight and risk cutting off the blood flow to Sam's lower arm completely. He lifted Sam's arms to rest on his stomach and jogged over to Ben.

"He's not all out of it, but I can't get him to wake up." The tall, dirty blonde haired kid from before, said without Dean having to ask.

"Alright. Gimme some space here." He said gently and pried Ben's eyelids apart to check his response again. "Damnit. C'mon Ben." He grumbled in a low voice just as the ambulance pulled up to the edge of the football field. Two paramedics stumbled out with a gurney held between them. Dean waved them over to him knowing Ben was worse off than his brother.

"Over here!"

"What about the other three?" One of the paramedics shouted back.

"Those two are dead and the kid has a shoulder wound. This one," He nodded to Ben, "is worse off than the other one." He finished and gestured to Sam.

They came over and quickly accessed Ben's condition. Dean stepped back with trepidation and watched as they lugged Ben's dead weight onto the gurney. They quickly wheeled the gurney out and Dean hurried over to his brother.

"Sam?"

"Dea…" His brother's voice was slurred and his eyes glazed.

"I'm right here, Sammy."

"Ben…?"

"He's gonna be alright-" The two paramedics returned with a second gurney and together the three men shuffled the larger and heavier man onto it. "Sammy. I'm right here. I'm gonna follow you two to the hospital. You're alright." He let the sentence hang as Sam was pushed into the ambulance and the doors were closed.

A second ambulance then showed up right beside the first one. "We don't have space to take the third one. We checked the two others and they're dead, but the third one is going to go with them." The paramedic gestured to the newly arrived ambulance. Dean nodded.

"I'll follow you to the hospital."

The paramedic offered a nod before climbing back in the ambulance and roaring out of there with the sirens blaring.

"Hey. Who are you? How do you know Ben?" The kid who had called the ambulance asked Dean in a rush. Dean was already moving back to the field to get a look at the kid who had just transformed from a mountain lion back into a teenager. "Are you his dad?" The teen pressed. "What the hell was that happening to Terrance back there?"

"Terrance, that's his name?" Dean asked without slowing down his stride.

The teen nodded. "And I'm Lucas." He kept up with Dean's long stride. "I wanna know what happened to him."

"Who? Ben or Terrance?" Dean asked without giving any indication he was slowing down.

"Both of them!"

"Well I can't do either. I don't know what the hell that little show on the field was and I have no idea if Ben is even still alive." He glanced back and with a single look stopped the teen in his tracks. Dean jogged the rest of the way over to the kid apparently named Terrance, cupping his bullet wound. Pitiful whimpering was all that could be heard from him. No one would come near him, including his supposed "friends". Dean strode straight up to the kid and flipped him over on his back. Behind him he heard the paramedics wheeling their gurney ever closer. "Hey, Terrance."

Terrance looked up with wide, frightened eyes.

"Do you know what happened?" Dean asked slowly. The kid shook his head and whimpered. "I know it hurts. I'm the one who shot you, Terrance." The kid started shaking violently, but Dean didn't let it faze him. He didn't know if the kid was a victim or the culprit. "Relax. I'm not going to do it again. Do you remember me shooting you?" He asked and saw the kid pale a little.

"N-No…" Terrance breathed out with a cracking voice.

"Do you remember anything?"

"I-I don't-"

Dean glanced back and saw that the paramedics were almost there. He needed answers before the kid was taken away. "What's the last thing you remember?" He rushed out.

"I-I w-was… I was on m-my way out h-here, in m-my costume an' everything went black." He was shaking so bad he could barely speak. His face was getting deathly pale. The two paramedics rolled up in a flurry of questions and orders for Dean to step aside. Dean pulled back and crossed paths with the teen named Lucas and his friends.

"Where are you going?" A beautiful girl with black hair asked.

Dean glanced at them without slowing down. "To the hospital."

"Then I'm going with you she said and Dean saw her, Lucas and another kid move to follow him. His steps never slowed or faltered.

"Then you're going in your own damn car, 'cause no way you're driving with me." He shot out with an angry, cocky tip with his head. He felt rather than heard the three teens stop and just watch him go.

He jumped in the car and gunned it out of the drive way towards the hospital.

-

Sam was slightly out of it, but soon cleared up when he noticed the paramedic fussing over Ben. "Is he alright?" Sam asked and tried to sit up.

The paramedic pushed him back down. "I'm sure he will be."

"I need to know that he'll be ok." Sam eyed the young man for a second.

The man huffed. "Are you family."

Sam swallowed convulsively. "Yeah. I'm his uncle-"

"Then you can wait at the hospital and come talk to him when he wakes up."

Sam swallowed and looked down at the young teenager. His limp body shifted with every turn the car made. Sam found himself wishing that Dean was there to tell him everything would be alright.

-

Dean had sped after the ambulance and pulled to a screeching halt outside the hospital. Now he was sitting in the hospital waiting room, getting more annoyed as the seconds ticked by. The wall clock hammered every second, mind-shattering in its monotony. Dean's jaw clenched with every hollow click.

His fingers hammered in rapid succession on his thigh.

Click.

The upholstery of the chair he was in scratched his back and arms. He kept reaching up and scratching his nails over his skin to make it stop.

Click.

The receptionist kept looking at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

Click.

He wondered how he would ever make this alright with Lisa.

CLICK!

He shot out of his chair and stalked to the reception desk with murder in his eyes. The plump nurse there shrunk as he approached. Fears of a repeat of an earlier scene made her want to run and hide. Dean had stormed into the hospital like he owned the place and demanded to see his brother. The woman at the desk had refused with what Dean clearly perceived as a superior attitude. He had growled something less decent at her and since then, the small, round woman had darted her beady, little eyes to check on Dean every five minutes or so. Dean was fed up.

"I want to see my brother. Now!" The woman jumped and Dean felt her decline seconds from emerging.

"I'll see what I can do." She mumbled and hurried behind a door out of sight.

His angry frown turned to two arched eyebrows as the woman shuffled away faster than he had thought possible. Behind him a doctor made an appearance out of nowhere. "Wow that was fast." Dean commented surprised.

"Excuse me?" The doctor asked softly.

"Nothing. I was looking for someone to tell me how my brother is doing."

"His name?"

"Sam Walters."

The doctor smiled briefly and reached out his hand. "I'm doctor Burns. He's doing fine. We gave him some sedatives and he should be right as rain very soon. The wounds on his arm are going to leave some scars, though."

"T's ok. Chicks dig 'em." Dean muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. What about Ben?"

"Your son?" The doctor asked and was about to continue.

"What?"

"Well your brother, Sam, told me he was his uncle so I figured…"

"Oh yeah- no, right." Dean nodded. "How's he doing?"

"He has some severe lacerations to his chest, a couple of bruised ribs and a nasty bump on the head. We scanned him for possible skull fracture, but didn't find anything. He has a very bad concussion and will need to stay here for observation for at least 24 hours."

"When can I see him?"

"He's still in surgery patching up his chest, but as soon as he's done and settled I'll call you." The young doctor smiled. "Would you like to stay with your brother while you wait?"

Dean nodded eagerly. "Yeah."

"Right this way sir." The doctor buzzed them through two glass slide doors. He glanced back just in time to see the rotund nurse from before, eyeing him cautiously before he disappeared from view around the corner.

The doctor opened the door into Sam's room and Dean almost bumped into the man trying to get to his brother. The doctor arched his eyebrows but softened when he saw the worry clear on the older man's face. "I'll come call you when your son wakes up." The door closed softly as the doctor left.

Dean walked over to Sam and turned his bandaged arm. Sam eyed him with an almost amused expression. "13 stitches." He said and raised his eyebrows at Dean's frown.

Dean hissed and turned the arm gently. "Shit, Sammy."

"Could've been worse."

"Yeah, don't remind me." Dean fell into the chair placed next to Sam's bed with a sigh. He ran a cold hand over his warm face and frowned at the thought of him getting a fever on top of everything.

"How's is Ben?"

"They say he's going to be fine." Dean said gruffly as he stared at the wall behind Sam's head. Sam nodded slowly. "Did you tell them we were related?" Dean asked without taking his eyes off the pastel colored wall.

Sam swore he heard a flicker of hope in the question, but never saw anything to indicate that feeling on Dean's face. "Yeah. Told him I was his uncle and you were his father." Sam scratched his bandages pensively.

Dean slapped his picking fingers away. "Don't scratch. You'll get it infected." His voice didn't rise above a tired and worn out tone and Sam eyed his big brother for a second.

"You sound exhausted."

"Don't start." Dean bit off.

Sam sighed and turned his gaze to rest on his lap. "What do we tell Lisa?" He looked back up at Dean, expecting some miraculous solution.

"We don't."

Sam's jaw dropped and his mouth fell open.

"We hang here till the kid's better and then we take him back home. If we're lucky he'll had just about enough of this little hunt of his." Dean rubbed his face again and leaned back in the chair.

"We could take him with us, Dean?" Sam asked actually hoping a little himself.

"No."

"He was right about the trickster. He figured it out before we did."

"Sam, I said no." Dean's tone hardly changed and Sam kept pressing.

"You were the one who wanted him to come in the first place."

"I never said that, Sam." Dean glided his steely eyes to stare at his younger brother, daring him to object.

"You didn't have to-"

Dean swirled out of his chair and started pacing away from the bed. "Jesus, Sam! I can't win with you!"

Sam stopped before going into an argument. He looked at his brother and saw the black smudges under his eyes and the flushed color on his face. "I know you were right to want to get to know him." Sam said slowly.

"I never said that!"

"You didn't have to!" Sam shouted back.

Dean stood frozen for a second and huffed deeply. Sam eyed him stubbornly from his bed. He would get up if he had to. He just hoped he could keep from falling flat on his face if he did. He had an IV bag stuck to his arm and knew he had been given a blood transfusion while they had patched him up. "You're a stubborn ass." Sam said placidly.

Dean glared back and shrugged.

"What if this didn't change his mind?" Sam asked instead. He knew it was a low blow even as he watched his brother's intense and confident stare, flicker. He knew he had hit the mark. "Your plan to convince him last time didn't. Maybe he's stronger than we thought?" Sam finished.

Dean just stared at him. The insecurity from before had turned to annoyance because he knew his brother was right. "I can't, Sam." Dean's tone never wavered and his stance never weakened, but Sam saw clear as day the truth behind the words.

"We'll handle it together, Dean." Sam tried to convince him.

Dean shook his head. "No. I refuse to jeopardize his life like it doesn't mean shit."

"Is that what you think we're doing?" Sam asked shocked.

Dean shied back minutely and Sam could see him fishing for an excuse.

"Is that what you think we're worth? What our lives are worth?"

Dean lowered his head slightly and rubbed his eyes with two fingers. "I never said that-"

"How many times do I have to tell you – you don't have to!!" Sam leaned as much forward as he could without ripping out his IV. "I know you, Dean! I probably know you better than you know yourself."

Dean snorted and crossed his arms defensively.

"We can't just let him think that way about us." Sam begged to the best of his puppy eyed ability.

Dean's posture softened as did his face. "I don't know, Sam…"

"I won't let a thing like this happen to him again, Dean." Sam proclaimed in a dark voice. "I promise you."

"You watch out for me and I'll watch out for him." Sam finished in a tone full of confidence.

Dean's face settled to a more agreeable look and Sam leaned back against the bunched pillows propped up behind him. Dean started back to the chair, but stopped when the doctor returned and peeked his head through the door.

"Mr. Walters?"

Dean turned on his heel and frowned briefly over the interruption.

The doctor smiled and stepped fully into the room. "You wanted me to let you know when your son was awake?" He asked.

Dean turned back to Sam who offered a barely perceptible nod. Dean smirked and nodded back before he turned and headed with the doctor out of the room.

The doctor saw the older brother turn back to Sam and nod reassuringly.

Dean followed him down a few identical halls before entering a single room. The doc pushed back the curtain and revealed the young man Dean barely knew, but felt more connected to than he cared to admit. He sat down on the bed next to Ben and reached a hand up to touch his forehead softly. The doctor backed out of the room and gave Dean a moment alone. For that he was grateful. He would have to remember to call and thank the doctor for how attentive he had been.

"Ben?" Dean asked with a soft, warm voice. He saw the teenager shift slightly. "Can you wake up for me, kiddo?" He kept stroking Ben's spiky bangs back. Ben shifted again and Dean watched his eyes flutter open and roll slightly in their sockets.

"Hi, Ben." He smiled down to the boy and rested his hand next to his face.

"Your hands are cold." Ben squawked out. His throat sounded like it was filled with gravel. Dean reached over for a cup of water without another word.

"Here drink this." He held the little straw to the kid's mouth. Ben eyed him guardedly, but Dean's face stayed calm and placid. "How do you feel?" Dean asked. He frowned mentally when he realized the stupidity of the question. _How could he be feeling? _

"'M fine." Ben said in rolled away from Dean's hand. He made to sit up, but stopped in shock when his chest suddenly lit up as if on fire. "Jesus…!" He wheezed out.

Dean held a hand to his uninjured shoulder and pushed him back down firmly, but carefully. "Your chest was pretty clawed up. They stitched you up though." Dean cleared his throat a little. "You should be fine in a couple of days." He reached the cup forward again, but Ben shifted away from Dean. Dean glanced away and pretended he didn't notice the gesture that cut deeper into him that anything ever before.

"Your head got a little banged up, but that should be fine too. Just a concussion." He frowned mentally again when he thought how lame that statement really was to anyone but he and Sam. In the normal world there was no such thing as "a normal concussion". Dean was about to continue when Ben interrupted.

"Why are you here?" A sudden memory of Dean's panicked cry at the football field popped back into his mind.

Dean looked at Ben for a few seconds. Why was he there? "Sam is here."

"So? Why did you come to check on me?"

Ben shifted and Dean couldn't help notice the stiffness in his body. The wounds might not have been too deep, but they had to hurt like a bitch. And the concussion had to be killing him. Dean hardened his face. Damned if he would let something like this happen again. "I'm here to take you back."

Ben stiffened noticeably and held his breath for what he knew would come.

"Your mother called me, Ben." Dean's voice hardened as he thought how heartbroken she had sounded. "She cried telling me her son had run away." He saw Ben look down in shame. "She asked me if you were with me. I told her no."

He watched carefully as Ben glanced back up.

"But of course now that's a lie. 'Cause here you are." He sat back down on the chair and crossed his arms. "We're taking you back to your mother and you're going to apologize your sorry ass off until she believes you." Dean's hard voice testified to the anger he felt over the kid's moronic behavior.

"I'm not going to stay there." Ben said quietly.

Dean's eyes widened in disbelief. "The hell you're not!"

Ben looked up at the older and stronger man spitefully. "You can threaten all you want, Winchester, but you can't tell me what I can and cannot do."

"No, but your mother can." Dean declared in a steely voice.

"It's better this way." Ben suddenly deflated and eyed the worn hospital sheet draped over him.

Dean gazed at the young man and barely stopped himself from reaching out and shaking some sense into him. "You have no idea what you're talking about-"

"I damn well do-" Ben argued angrily.

"You have no idea what it means to really hunt. To gamble your life like that without any regards for yourself." Dean's voice was an angry hiss.

"I know what it's like to feel so alone you'd rather sacrifice yourself than risk someone else dying!" Ben's eyes burned as his defenses crumbled. "To want to do anything to save _them_ if it means they can have one more day with the ones _they_ love!"

Dean stilled and watched the young man struggle for control of his emotions. He felt his eyes burn at the raw pain mirrored on Ben's face.

"So don't you _dare_ come here and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about….!" He hissed in conclusion.

Dean looked at him with sad eyes and figured they were two of a kind. The kid knew what real loss felt like even though he had never experienced it before. Unless you counted Dean and Sam leaving all those years ago? Or the changelings taking him when he was just a boy? _Alright so maybe he knows better than anyone…_ Dean dreaded the thought for a second, but calmed himself with the notion that they weren't important enough to have been severely missed. That Ben's mother had been his comfort through the aftermath of being kidnapped.

"Ben, I have to take you home. I owe your mother that much."

Ben was shaking and barely managed to keep his tears from spilling over. His loneliness changed to confusion from one minute to the next. He had no idea what kind the person the man beside him really was. His words didn't match his actions.

"I'm not leaving until I kill this thing." He said with conviction. "If you dump me back home I'll leave again. You can threaten me all you want, but I won't stop until that bastard is dead."

Dean looked long and hard at him with a frown. He knew he couldn't win with Ben. He couldn't force him and he couldn't trick him. "You're staying with us until we kill it." Ben's face lit up, but Dean continued. "The _second_ we get back to the motel we call your mother and explain _everything_ to her." He got out of his chair.

"When can I leave?" Ben asked, but was brushed aside.

"You may not give a damn if you live of die, but we do."

"Dean…"

"I'll go see if we can't get you released." Dean said without looking back. The door closed with a soft click as he left the room. Ben sat back and winced as his stitches pulled. He picked at his chest absently and wondered if they were even going to let him come on the hunt? If Dean was just telling him what he wanted to hear?

Half an hour later had both brothers coming to check on him. And at the concerned looks on their faces he felt a sting of pride and calm. He felt like he belonged. And he felt like the brothers knew it too.


	11. Approaching Hunt

Ben was more than happy to be out of that damned hospital. He knew that Dean and Sam wouldn't take him home right away because it was too dangerous and he didn't really want to face his mother. But he also knew that Dean would call his mother and tell her everything that had happened. Ben figured he owed her that much.

'_**Do you think about**_

_**Everything you've been through**_

_**You've never thought you'd be so depressed**_

_**Are you wondering?**_

_**If it's life or death**_

_**Do you think that their's no one like you'**_

Three Days Grace's _One X._ Ben managed a small smile from the back seat, probably Sam's choice. He knew Dean was only interested in bands with enough guitar solos to make your ears bleed. He himself liked a wide variety of music, but mostly AC/DC and Zeppelin. 'Cause well, _Zeppelin rules_.

'_**The life I think about**_

_**Is so much better than this**_

_**Never thought I'd be stuck in this mess**_

_**Get's me wondering**_

_**Is this life and death**_

_**Did you figure out who's behind you'**_

He was now bored as hell of this song, but he didn't really want to ask to change it. He didn't want to make anyone else more mad than they already were with him. Although, Sam was asleep on the front seat and Dean didn't look to mad at all. _Ah forget it_, he'd just let it slide.

Thirty minutes later her was jolted awake by Dean's loud music and his ability to sing along to it.

"Communication breakdown, it's always the same, communication breakdown, driving me insane..!"

Ben stifled a chuckle. Dean probably thought he was still asleep so he decided to sing.

"Having fun there, Dean?" He asked instead.

Dean jumped, alarmed at Ben's voice, "What huh? How long have you been awake?" He glanced back in the rear view mirror.

"Long enough to hear the little concert you've got going on." Ben said slightly amused.

"Oh well. Whatever…" Dean mumbled, turning the radio off. "We're almost at the motel anyways, so we can have you lie down for a bit if you want?"

"Naw, I'll be okay." Ben started bobbing his head slowly along to the music.

"No, you still need to rest?" Dean said without looking back.

Ben let out a long sigh, "Fine" He knew Dean would still make him rest no matter what he did.

They pulled into a small parking lot and parked under a neon sign. It read The Snooze Motel. Ben saw Dean nudge Sam. "Were here."

"Uh, Dean?"

He turned in his seat. "Yeah?"

Ben felt embarrassed about the question he was about to ask, but he needed to get it out. "Um, would you mind helping me out of the car?" He couldn't get the slight tremor out of his voice, but knew it would be next to impossible to get out on his own. Every time he moved he could feel his stitches stretching. During the ride back to the motel his body had stiffened and he could barely shift his legs without wincing.

"No problem, kid." Dean got out of the driver's seat and headed to the side where Ben was at. He opened the door and held his hand out for Ben to grab it. Ben hesitated for a moment and grabbed it as he slowly started inching out of the low car. He grimaced when he made to stand up. Even though his cuts were shallow, it still hurt like hell.

He noticed Sam's concerned look as he got out of the car to help Ben, along with Dean. Ben couldn't help but think that Sam looked like a giant. He grabbed Ben's shoulder lightly and guided him to the room.

"I think I can walk by myself, Sam." He said with a light huff. He never noticed Dean's grim expression as the oldest hunter followed Sam and Ben to the room.

"Well, I'm not going to take any chances. If I did....I think Dean and your mother would kill me." Sam said with a nervous glance back. He remembered the promise he had made to Dean. And he intended to keep it.

"Fine." Ben muttered like a brat. He knew he was pushing it, but the help wasn't easy to accept. Especially when it felt forced.

~SN~

The phone rang only once before Lisa grabbed the mouthpiece. "Hello?" She could already feel her eyes burning.

"_Hi. It's Dean_." The familiar, gruff voice said on the other end of the line.

"Any n-news?" Her voice shook at his grim tone of voice.

"_Yeah. We found him._"

"Oh thank g-god…!" She whimpered and covered her mouth to conceal the sob threatening to burst out. "H-How is he?"

She heard Dean sigh and started to shake. "_He's fine. We found him one state over in a town called Atalissa. He was trying to hunt the same thing as me an' Sam._"

She drew a deep breath. "How. Is. He?"

Dean sighed again and she almost wanted to snap at him to stop. "_He's fine._" There was a slight hesitation in his voice and it made her heart rate double. "_He's sleeping right now._"

"Was he h-hurt?" Silent tears were rolling down her face as she tried desperately not to sob.

"_Nothing serious_."

That actually did force out the sob she'd so desperately tried to hide. She removed the phone from her mouth and covered it till she could get herself under control. "H-How bad?"

"_A few cuts and scrapes._" Dean sounded calm and she wanted to shout at him that there was no such thing. "_Nothing serious._"

"Bring him home." She steeled herself and tried to at least act composed.

"_Lisa…-_"

"Dean, I don't care. Bring him home. Right.. Now." She almost managed to choke the tremor as she said the words.

"_That could be a problem._"

"W-What?" She could feel her cheeks heating as anger rekindled.

"_He doesn't wanna leave-_"

"Then you make him!" She was shouting into the receiver and knew her neighbor probably heard it.

"_It's not as simple as that-_"

"Damn hell it's not!!" She started pacing. "You bring my son home, you understand me!?"

"_He doesn't want to-_"

"I don't care!"

"_Lisa! Would you just stop and listen for a second!_" His powerful voice boomed through the earpiece.

She stopped and could feel she was beginning to hyperventilate. She didn't answer, but just stood there, in the middle of her living room.

Dean sighed again and she actually ground her teeth together that time. "_He wants to stay with us._"

And that was it, wasn't it? That was what she had been so worried about all these years. That was what her real fear was. Her son leaving to become a hunter. As much as she loved the brothers for saving him years back, she _never_ wanted her son to lead that life. She had only ever wanted to keep him safe.

"No…" Was all she could mutter.

"_Lisa, I know-_" Dean sounded regretful.

"No! You tell him I want him to come home first. I want to see him. Talk to him. Make sure that he's ok."

"_I can't make him._"

"Bull_shit_ you can't! Throw him in the car and take him back here!" The tears were back and cursed her own weakness loudly.

"_I can't make him, Lisa_." He explained slowly.

In a rush she realized what he meant. He thought he didn't have a say in the boy's life. She had cursed him for thinking he did when he returned him the first night. She had made him think he couldn't have any influence. That he wasn't his father.

"_If we throw him on a bus, he'll just come right back and go after it alone._" Dean sighed over the phone again and Lisa could practically imagine him running a hand down his face. "_He wants revenge over the thing that hurt his friends and he'll get with or without us here to stop him._"

"Then-n explain to h-"

"_You know I can't do that._" He said full of regret.

She started crying again and collapsed on the couch. Her knees gave out as she sobbed brokenly into the phone. The very life she had tried to shield her son from, was the life he had chosen regardless. She had practically thrown him into it herself. She had slapped him the night he ran away. She had lied to him all the times he asked if she was sure Dean was his father. And now it was coming back to haunt her.

"_Lisa…_" She could have drowned in that voice. He sounded as heartbroken as she was.

"I-I n-never wanted t-this f-for him…" She cried. She curled her legs and tucked her knees up to her chin.

"_I know…_" He said in that same, deep voice she loved so much. Then something stirred in the background. "_Could you hang on for a second?_" She could hear him waiting for her answer.

"Y-Yes…" She heard him cover the phone and allowed a few sobs to echo in the empty room.

-

Dean turned when he heard voice from inside the room.

"_You need to talk to her, Ben._" His brother was advocating for Lisa.

"_No I don't._" Ben maintained stubbornly.

Dean opened the door into the room with his hand over the phone. Without a word he handed the phone to Sam and marched over to the young man. Ben was standing and Dean grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. Not hard enough to make him wince, but Dean saw the shocked expression that flashed over Ben's face.

"Dean!" His brother barked.

"Now you listen to me. That is your _mother_ on the phone and she wants to talk to you." He thumped him into the wall once for emphasis and ignored Sam. "And you're gonna stop acting like a spoiled child and _talk_ to her, understand?" His voice was low and deadly.

Ben squared his jaw and tried not to swallow. He looked Dean straight in the eye and glanced over to Sam who was covering the mouthpiece with his hand. Ben could feel his composure slipping. He wanted to talk to his mom and beg for forgiveness, but knew he didn't deserve it.

In a twist of events Ben never had imagined, Dean's face softened and he released his death grip. Dean must have recognized the look of guilt and quiet suffering on the young man's face because his own softened with understanding. "She's not mad at you." Ben snapped his eyes to the strong hunter. "She blames herself."

Ben's confused frown almost made Dean's heart break. The kid thought it was his fault. "Why?"

"For hitting you, Ben. For trying to keep you from doing what you had it in you to do all along."

Ben swallowed convulsively and squirmed under Dean's strong grip. Dean immediately released him with a sad expression. "She loves you, Ben. She only ever wanted the best for you."

"I can't talk to her."

Dean could see tears forming on the young man's face. "Why not?" He asked in that endlessly patient voice.

"Because it's my fault s-she's sad.." Dean ignored the shiver in the young boy's voice and the way Ben kept swiping a hand over his face.

"Because you ran away?" Dean leaned down to be more at eyelevel.

Ben nodded jerkily.

"She thinks it was her fault you ran."

Ben's eyes widened. "What?"

"She just wants to talk to you, Ben." Sam said softly from his bed. He reached the phone out with his hand over the mouthpiece.

"Talk to her." Dean said and nudged the young man over.

Ben slowly took the cell phone and bowed his head. "Hello?" His voice was low.

"_Ben_"

"Hi, mom."

Sam and Dean both looked down in awkwardness. They felt like they were eavesdropping. Ben looked at Sam and nodded to the door. Sam nodded back and glanced up at his big brother. Dean and Sam both stayed like statues in the middle of the room as Ben left and closed the door half way behind him.

"_B-Ben?_" He could hear the tears in his mother's voice and felt them burning behind his own eyes as well.

"Yeah."

"_I'm s-so glad to hear from you, honey!_" She said.

Ben felt a cold tear drip down his face and quickly brushed it off. He had his back to the door and the brothers, but felt them listening. "I'm-m glad to hear from you too." He sighed deeply and tried not to sob openly.

"_I was s-so worried, Benjamin!_" Despite the angry words he could hear the relief in his mother's voice.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't wanna hurt you."

He heard her sob and felt his own breath hitch. "_You didn't hurt _me_, honey._"

"I-I'm really sorry, mom…" His voice shivered and tears ran slowly down his face.

"_I know. Me too._"

Ben sighed in relief and ran a hand over his eyes.

"_Please come home, sweety._" He could imagine, clear as day, the look in her eyes at that moment. He could imagine the hurt when he told her what he needed to say-

"I can't." He heard her sob. "Not yet."

"_Ben this isn't-_"

"I know you don't want me to get hurt and I love you, but I can't." He sighed and glanced back. Sam and Dean were slowly unpacking their things and appeared to not be listening, but Ben knew better. "I need to make sure it never hurts anyone again." He steeled his voice and awaited the explosion he knew would come.

"_No. No, I want you to come home. Stop this silly hunt you think you need to do-_"

"It's not silly, mom!" He shouted and knew Dean and Sam had both heard. "I HAVE to do this! It feels right when I'm hunting. Like I matter. And when I'm not, I can't stop thinking about it. I can't sit by and watch monsters ravage _my_ world!" He pointed animatedly at his chest.

-

Lisa fell quiet.

She knew she had lost. She realized it had never been her choice to make. It was never in her power to stop him from becoming what was in his blood. Ben was a hunter. Just like his father.

She sighed and wiped away the last of her tears with a new resolve. "I want to see you again." She said in a strong voice. "When this hunt is done you come home so I can see for myself that you're alright." She inhaled. "Alright?"

"_Yeah…._" He said hesitantly.

She exhaled and stood up from her crouched position on the couch. "Alright." She knew he wasn't a little boy any more. Knew he hadn't been in a long time. She cleared her throat. "We have a lot to talk about, young man."

He huffed over the phone and made her smile for a second. "_I know, mom._"

She sat down at her kitchen table and ran her nails over the linoleum. "I need to see you back here when Dean and Sam have killed it."

"_Alright._"

"Promise me that."

"_I promise you, mom._"

At his earnest tone of voice she felt her chest unclench. "I know that the vacation is coming up, but I want you back when it's over. You're not dropping out of school…!" She said strongly and heard him huff again.

"_I promise. I love you, mom._"

"I love you…"

"_Talk to you soon._"

"Bye…"

The line went dead and Lisa felt tears burning in her eyes all over again.

~SN~

Dean looked up when Ben came back inside and saw him sit down at the table, "Ben, don't, you lie down." He vacated the bed furthest from the door and motioned for Ben to take it.

"What? I can't sit down?" The young man asked tiredly.

"Well....fine, just don't move too much okay?" Dean looked at him closely until he answered.

"Deal."

"Um, Dean?" Sam cut in.

"What?"

"We still need to do some research on our trickster."

"Don't we have enough?" Ben asked. Dean could see his eyes were drooping and rolled his at the stubbornness he saw in the young man.

"No. Not all of it." Sam sighed. "We still need the spell to trap the trickster if we wanna have any luck killing it."

"Damn…" Ben grumbled tiredly.

"Fine." Dean said and grabbed one of the library books sitting on the table.

*four hours later*

"Dean. I have something." Sam called from the bedroom.

Dean washed his hands and turned off the light to the bathroom. "Don't wake him up."

He glanced over at Ben, sleeping on top of the covers. "What do you got?"

"Well, looks like the trickster is still at the high school"

"Atalissa?" Dean sat down at the small dinner table and arched an eyebrow. "Why would it still be hanging around?"

Sam shrugged. "It might not be done yet."

"How do you know it's still there?"

"Found some lore that says a trickster of this kind always stays at the same place for seven moons after its first kill."

"Seven moons, that's….?"

"Seven days." Sam flipped open a book that showed a picture of a trickster standing under seven moon depictions. "It always lingers for seven days before it moves on."

"Great. Well then let's go kill it." Outside the sun was slowly rising.

"What do we do about him?" Sam gestured over to the dormant teen.

Dean growled and ran a hand over his face. "Leave him here. I'm not risking his life for this."

"What if he follows us?" Sam said nervously.

"He can try. I'll tie him to the freakin bed if he does." Dean growled and cracked his neck.

"Looks like you get to tell him that yourself." Sam said and nodded over. Ben was slowly waking and moving around on the bed. He was on his stomach and Dean knew he would start to feel the sting from his wounds as soon as he became a little more lucid. He walked over and gently turned him on his back.

"Dude." Ben said slowly and looked up at Dean who was standing uncomfortably close to his face.

"What?" Dean made no move to give the teen some space so Ben frowned at him. Figured that would do the trick. It didn't and when Dean gestured to Ben's tee shirt he had a moment to get weirded out. "I need to see the stitches." Dean said and ran a hand over his tired face.

"Oh." Ben sat up straighter and winced when the stitches pulled. "They feel fine."

"Yeah and I still need to check them. Doctor's orders." Dean said in the same tired voice. Ben hiked down his tee shirt and winced again when it touched one of the wounds. Dean's expression sobered when he was reintroduced with the grim cuts on the young man's chest.

"They don't even hurt that much." Ben said at the sad expression on Dean's face.

"You slept on them so I need to check if they're still intact."

"How do you feel, Ben?" Sam asked from the other bed. He looked as tired as Dean.

"Better than you I guess."

Sam frowned, but it was Dean who reacted. "Are you talking smack?" He narrowed his eyes and nodded that the stitches were ok.

Ben huffed. "No you just look like you haven't slept in three weeks."

Dean growled and shooed Sam off the other bed. "We haven't." He let himself fall down with a huff, face first.. "But we will before we do anything."

"What time is it?" Ben asked and ran a hand through his tussled hair.

"About five thirty." Sam said and closed his computer. He then shooed Ben off the second bed and fell down too. "We did all the research we need and now we need some rest. We'll hunt the trickster tonight. Still have five more days before it leaves." He said drunkenly into his pillow.

"Uh hey, Sam?" Ben stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"What?" He asked with his face still buried in his pillow, just like his brother's.

"You think I could borrow you computer while you guys sleep? I'm not really that tired and I wanted to check some things."

"Yea sure."

Ben could already hear sleep pulling the brothers under, but wasn't quite finished. "Hey you guys know how to kill one of those things, right?"

Dean growled in a warning for the kid to shut up. It didn't work. "Yeah we do, Ben."

"Stake dipped in lamb's blood?"

"Yes." Sam said grumpily.

"Because our research showed that the trickster wasn't like others. It's called a

Hagondes."

"We know, Ben." Both brothers growled simultaneously.

"Okay, then." He sat down at the dinner table. "So you know about the starvation-"

"Yes, Ben!" They said at the simultaneously again.

"Alright. So we'll just talk when you guys wake up-"

"Yeah…"

"Whatever…" They each grumbled. Ben grinned and sat down in front of the computer. He hadn't checked any accounts for a while and wondered if he had missed anything. Opening his e-mail he saw one unread waiting for him. It was from Kate.

~SN~

The light sliced through the curtains and crept across the floor like a knife. Dean was still on his stomach and Sam had rolled to his back. Both brothers were resting easily. Ben had spent the better part of the morning checking accounts and scouring the web for more facts about the trickster. So far he hadn't found anything he and his friends hadn't covered. He heard Dean stirring and glanced over.

"Hi, Ben." He rubbed his eyes slowly and sat up. He cast a glance at his brother and back at the teen, hunched in front of the computer.

"Morning."

"What time is it?"

"About ten am." Ben said without looking up.

"Learn anything?" Dean smirked and pointed to the computer.

Ben rubbed his spiky hair and frowned. "Nothing I didn't already know."

Dean's smirk grew. "Then you didn't check out ."

Ben frowned and huffed. "Not porn, Dean. The trickster." He tapped the screen.

Dean rolled his eyes. "God you're as boring as Sammy." He sighed and rolled out of the warm bed. "Well alright. Why don't tell me you've got so far?" He took a seat next to the boy.

"Well, it doesn't really like light as you probably know. And you can kill it by starvation."

"Yeah, we already knew that." Dean sighed and glanced over at his brother. "I need coffee before I do anything." He looked back at Ben. "C'mon. Let's go get some brew." He clapped his hands together and got his coat.

Ben followed with a glance back at Sam, still sleeping. Dean and Ben found a nice diner and ordered a full breakfast. Dean had a slice of pie while they waited. Ben growled low in his throat at the sticky, greasy slice of pie. "How can you eat that now?"

Dean barely glanced up with jam all over his face. "There's always room for pie."

Ben huffed and Dean returned to his vigorous eating.

Their meal arrived and they returned to the motel. Sam was already up and showered when they returned. Sam sauntered out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips and nodded when Ben and Dean entered.

Get it while the gettin's good." Dean announced and plopped down on a chair. He wasted no time in digging out a bunch of hash browns, bacon and pancakes.

"You didn't have enough at the diner?" Ben widened his eyes and glanced up at Sam's mirthful smirk.

"Lemme guess. Apple pie?" Sam arched a brow.

"Blueberry." Ben said with a smile.

Dean shrugged and frowned at both of them. "I'm not completely uncivilized! No one eats apple pie before eleven am." He sent both Sam and Ben very obvious glares. _Duh!_

Sam just huffed and took his coffee before it was absorbed in the human vortex he usually referred to as his brother.

"So we're gonna hunt the trickster tonight?" Ben asked out of the blue.

Sam glanced at his brother, who had suddenly stopped eating. "Yeah."

"That's the plan anyway." Dean said between two mouthfuls of bacon.

"Did you find anything on the computer?" Sam looked over at the young man.

Ben frowned and shook his head. "No. Nothing I didn't know." He looked up at the brothers. "How do _you_ intend to kill it?"

Sam sighed and put his coffee down. "I think it's safest if we trap it first. That way we at least make sure that it can't escape and that it can't hurt us."

"And just how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Dean looked at his brother. "Tie a steak to a piece of string and hope it bites? Or maybe dig a big hole and cover it up?"

"We have the spell-"

"That's a binding spell and a damn unsure one at that." Dean looked at his brother seriously.

"Uh, guys?" Ben asked softly.

"We could starve it? Might weaken its defences." Sam said.

"Oh and how do you see _that_ going?" Dean widened his eyes at his brother.. "By killing every single person in the world so it has no one to feed on? OR we could of course just use the big hole to hide everybody in until it surrenders and dies-"

"Guys!" Ben tried a little louder.

"_What_!" Both brothers asked simultaneously.

"What if we just cut its head off?"

"And how do you plan on doing that, Ben?" Dean asked in a surprisingly patient voice.

"Well we could sneak up behind it or lure it into the trap?"

"Awesome job Ben! Let's go!" Dean's voice was brimming with sarcasm and made Ben scowl.

"How do you expect us to lure it anywhere?" Sam asked empathetically. "It might just run when it sees us. Might recognize us?" He leaned slightly over the table and looked Ben deep in the eye.

Ben swallowed once. When it didn't remove the clog in his throat, he did it again and again. "We could use a lure?" He tried not to seem too gung ho about it. He knew that he had to play it cool to get his plan to even be considered by the brothers. Sam and Dean were both watching him expectantly. "We could use me as bait." Ben said finally and awaited the shitstorm he knew would happen.

"No way!" Dean announced.

Ben rolled his eyes and tried not to act juvenile about it.. "You need me." He said quietly.

"Ben, no." Sam looked at him with deep eyes and Ben knew it was concern more than anything shining through.

"It's seen me. It knows me." Ben swallowed and tried to swallow down the passion in his voice as well.

"All the more reason NOT to use you." Dean said.

Ben could see the anger flashing in the emerald depths. "I know what it looks like. I know what to look for. It's the best plan we have." He said calmly and leaned back. He knew he wouldn't get his way by stomping in the floor and crying. So instead he tried a different approach. The adult approach. "You need me in on this." He looked confidently at each brother.

"No."

"Dean." Sam said slowly.

"Sam, no!" Dean was getting angry at Sam too. No WAY was a kid going on the hunt with them. A kid Dean kinda cared for as well. Not going to happen.

"You can't lock me in here." Ben's voice rose slightly with anger and he had to force himself to calm back down. "If you do I'll follow behind and probably be at more risk."

He could see Sam was already worried. He knew that the youngest brother worried, not because Ben wanted to come, but because he knew Ben was telling the truth. He knew Ben would follow. The teen knew, looking into the eyes of the younger brother. he knew Sam was caving.

"Dean…" Sam tried again.

Dean growled deep in his throat. A warning for them not to keep pushing. "Sam…"

"You know him better than me." Sam said instead. "Would he do it?" His voice held a challenge in it.

Dean glared at his brother and back at the teen. "You WANT him to get killed, is that it?!"

"Dean, why can't you-"

"Hang on for a second, Ben." Sam waved at him to quiet down. "No, Dean. Of course not. But I believe him when he says he'll follow if we leave him here-"

"Not if I hog-tie him to the chair." Dean growled.

"You were the one who wanted him to stay." Sam said with his harsh eyes glued to his big brother.

Dean's head suddenly dropped and he wouldn't look in Ben's direction. Ben's face fell. "I thought you…-" Dean glanced up and scrubbed a hand over his face.

Sam knew he had convinced his brother. He knew the kid had manipulated them, but Dean wanted him to come. He said it was to scare the crap so far out of him he'd never want to leave his mom's side again. But Sam knew better. He knew his brother. He remembered the dream walk into his brother's mind all those years ago. He remembered what his brother dreamed about.

"So?" Ben asked slowly. "What so you say?" He held his head low and looked at each man through his lashes.

Dean wouldn't look at any of them. His face slowly split in a sneer. "He's your responsibility." He growled and left the room.

Sam looked at Ben whose face had fallen and sobered. He never wanted the brothers to fight. "One condition." Sam said in a steely voice. "You stay with me. You do as I say. If I tell you to drop you do it." Ben nodded. "No questions asked." Ben nodded and swallowed down the new lump the was forming.

Sam grabbed is gear and threw Ben a shotgun. "How good's your aim?"

Ben cocked the gun and smirked at the tall hunter. "Pretty good."

The trio left the motel room to finish the hunt they had started.


	12. Groundwork

**Dean pulled his baby up in front of the building and studied the dark windows. Inside, he could make out students in various ages. "You sure we should do this now?" He glanced over at his brother. **

**Sam didn't want to admit he was having second thoughts too. Ben cut in. "We'll be less likely to run into it during the day. If we wanna have any hope of killing it we need to lay the trap now." Ben cut in. Dean glanced back at him and over at his brother. **

"**He's right." Sam hurried out of the car and slammed the door behind him without looking back. **

**Dean sighed and followed his brother along with Ben. "So we get in, set the trap and get out?" **

**Sam sighed and hid the colt under his jacket. "And hope it doesn't see us. Yeah." **

"**Great." **

**Ben watched the mannerisms of the two seasoned hunters and marvelled of how at ease they were with everything. Right down to the way Dean held his gun in plain daylight. Ben had never thought of buying one. Let alone using it in broad daylight. **

**The few times spent skeet shooting had been extremely different. Legal, being the most proper way to describe it. He was pretty sure their weapons weren't registered or traceable. "Thanks for letting me tag along, guys." He said, mostly to Dean. **

**The oldest hunter barely acknowledged him and turned with a low growl. **

_**Oh yeah, he's pissed.**_** Ben swallowed down the discomfort and followed the brothers into the school. **

**- **

**The halls were deserted for the time being. Classes were still full, but that could all too quickly change. "I'll go this way. You guys go that way." Dean waved Sam and Ben off down a deserted hall. **

"**He's pissed at me isn't he?" Ben asked. **

**Sam looked down with surprise at the tone in Ben's voice. It sounded like he was heartbroken to think Dean was mad at him. "No, Ben. Dean is mad at me." Sam kept a lookout for any place that would be suitable to set the trap. "Alright so I think we should set up here.. Hand me the chalk?" Ben handed him the blessed chalk and he began drawing a circle on the floor. Ben scanned up and down the hall while Sam drew. "It's open and there's a backdoor if the trap doesn't work." He said almost as if to himself. **

"**But it will, right?" Ben looked at the tall hunter to gauge his expression. **

"**Yeah." Sam said darkly with a quick glance at the teen. **

**Sam never noticed the nervous swallow that bobbed Ben's Adam's apple. **

**- **

**Dean walked calmly down the halls and peeked into the classrooms every once in a while. Hundreds of students at the school were in danger of becoming the trickster's next target. The high school was still humming with activity despite the events just a couple days earlier. He paused when two kids appeared around a corner. **

"**Lucas, I'm telling you I think those guys knew something and you're telling me shut **

**up?" **

**Dean quickly ducked into a utility closet and listened. The girl talking sounded disbelieving. "We both saw what happened." She wouldn't let go and Dean could hear from they guy's grunt that he was getting annoyed. **

"**I don't know what the hell I saw." Lucas argued back. "I don't know how to make any sense of it!" **

"**And you think I do?" The girl argued back. **

"**You seem like you're totally at ease with all this!" He yelled a little louder than intended. Dean heard him measure his breath in the hope he wouldn't alert any of the people in the classrooms. **

"**You asshole!" She hissed. "You think because I didn't break down in tears with the stupid shrink, I didn't like the guys that were killed?!" **

"**I'm not sure what to think, Karly!" **

"**I may not have known them, but that does NOT mean I think they deserved to die like that. You know what you saw!" She counter commented. "We're not going insane. Those two men who saved us saw it too." **

"**You mean those two men who shot Terrance?" **

"**We would've died, Luke. Us and that Ben kid." **

**Dean swallowed convulsively at the thought of Ben's injuries. How much worse they could have been. **

"**Yeah." He heard the guy sigh deeply. "Did you find him by the way?" **

**Dean's pulse fluttered for a second. **

"**No. I went by to see him, but they said his dad and uncle checked him out." **

"**Two guys." **

**And Dean could almost imagine that damn conspiring look in the boy's eyes at that **

**moment. **

"**Yeah. So?" **

"**You think it was the same two guys?" **

**The silence thickened the air. **

**He realized that it was the same kids who had wanted to come with him to the hospital. He peeked out of the slit in the door and saw the two kids arguing. He glanced back the way he had come nervously and hoped he could away unseen. He should have known that wouldn't have worked. Not in broad daylight anyway. **

"**Hey!" Lucas called. **

**Dean froze with his back turned. **

"**You're the guy from this Friday!" He accused. **

**Dean cursed inwardly and tried not to act like a thief caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Yeah? That's me." He offered a polite smile and fumbled the phone in his pocket. He really hoped Ben and Sam were done setting the trap. He hit speed dial and barely heard his brother's muffled voice from the depths of his pocket. He just hoped the two kids hadn't heard it too. **

"**You're the one who shot Terrance!" Karly said in shock. **

**Dean's expression hardened. "You told anyone what you saw?" **

**He noticed the guy swallowing convulsively. "We weren't the only ones who saw." He said. **

**Dean offered a half smirk and tipped his head. "You're the only ones still talking about it." **

**Karly glanced nervously up at her friend. **

**Dean kept backing away. **

"**We only told the school psychiatrist and she doesn't believe us." She said. **

"**Good." Dean said and glanced back. He was almost at a door. Now he just needed to **

**know that Sam and Ben were out before he ran for it. "Let's keep it that way." **

"**The police are looking for you." Lucas threatened. **

**Dean knew the kid was gutsy, but he probably didn't know about the colt pressing against Dean's back. "They always are." He said with a full smirk. **

"**We know you weren't trying to hurt anyone." The girl said quickly. **

**He noticed how the tall kid frowned and figured it was time to leave. He didn't really want to have to draw a gun on a couple of high school kids. He felt the door behind him and turned. He made sure to slam it behind him and started in a full sprint down the hall. He ripped the phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear. "Did you get that, Sam?!" He said in a run. **

"**Every word. We're in the car, waiting for you**_**.**_**" **

"**Be there in a sec." Dean huffed into the cell and slammed the front door open. His brother and Ben looked up in surprise when Dean thundered out of the school. Sam was sitting behind the wheel with the engine humming. Dean jumped in and slammed the door. He didn't even get to give the order before Sam slammed the car into drive and squealed away from the curb.**

**The afternoon was spent back in the motel room. Sam was busy in front of the computer and Dean volunteered to get lunch. Ben followed to avoid having to read through another heavy book Sam **_**thought could be useful**_**. Sam had explained the importance of knowing ones enemy. Several times. Ben stopped listening after the third lecture. Dean had grinned when Ben sighed and rolled his eyes. **

**On the way to the same diner as before, Dean seemed much more relaxed. **

"**How come you're so calm?" Ben asked and tried not to let on how nervous he was. **

**Dean grinned, but sobered when he saw the worried expression on Ben's face. "We were raised with this stuff. Sammy and I. This is just another hunt." Ben nodded. "When you've seen what we have, it takes a lot to get a rise outta you." Dean wouldn't take his eyes off the road. **

"**But you save people." Ben said slowly and tried to catch Dean's eyes. **

"**Yeah." It was barely a whisper. "Because we don't know how to do anything else." He glanced over quickly. "It's not too late to back out?" **

"**I'm fine." Ben fired off. He sighed. "Don't you think it's worth it? Being a hunter I mean." **

**Dean squeaked in the back of his throat as conflicting emotions swelled to the surface. How could he explain himself out of that? He didn't want the boy to become a hunter, but he loved the strange serenity it gave him, knowing that he was keeping people safe. **

"**Yeah it is, Ben." **

"**Then why are you so against me doing it?" **

"**Because it's not a nice choice to make. And someone your age shouldn't have to make such a choice at all. There is no middle way with hunting. You either are or you aren't. You can't ever be normal again." He glanced to his right, hoping to get a reading from Ben's face. Unfortunately for Dean, the teen caught the glance and made Dean even more uncomfortable. **

"**I haven't been normal for a long time." Ben said slowly. **

**Dean couldn't have looked at the kid even if he wanted to. His chest felt heavy and his eyes burned when he thought of the innocence Ben had lost at such a young age. "I'm sorry." **

**Ben swallowed convulsively and finally tore his eyes away from the strong hunter. He looked down and back out at the scenery. **

**The stop at the diner was quick and they returned in time to see Sam sitting cross-legged on the floor, in the middle of the room, holding a candle. Dean stopped with his load of food and stared at the spectacle. "Uhh… Sammy?" Ben skirted around him and grinned at the sight of Sam's long legs curled in the lotus position. "Whatcha doin' little brother?" Dean entered cautiously, eying Sam the entire time. **

"**Praying." Sam said short and calmly with his eyes closed. **

"**Ok…" Dean glanced at Ben with arched brows. "Awkward…." He dropped the food on the table with the ruckus. "I thought you did that stuff when you showered?" Sam cracked one eye open to glare and made Dean grin. Dean turned to Ben who promptly huffed and grinned, turning away. **

"**Funny." Sam uncurled his long legs and pulled out a chair.. "No, I thought I could get it done before you got back. I found a binding spell for the Hagondes that's a little… specific." He arched a brow and pulled out a chicken sandwich. "I found its name too, by the way. It's roughly translated as 'Destroy Town'." **

"**No shit?" Dean was too busy pulling out every single item of food they had bought, to actually pick one thing and start eating. Ben was busy munching on a cheeseburger with extra dressing and lettuce. Dean figured the kid ordered extra because he wanted something to wipe off his shirt after eating. He threw the kid a napkin. "Should' a bought **

**you a bib." **

**Sam continued undeterred and reached in for his own food. "It requires you to pray to some minor gods in preparation. So that's what I was doing." Sam shrugged. Dean frowned when he noticed half of Sam's rabbit food, stuffed in the sandwich, was squeezing out in the bottom. "Says to ask the gods in advance to help with the ritual." **

"**It's not actually gods is it?" Ben asked between bites. **

"_**No**_**." **

"**Yes." They answered simultaneously. **

**Dean glared at his sibling. "You seriously think that?" **

**Sam shrugged again. "Yeah, Dean. I do. Might not be full gods. Might just be a demi god of some kind, but I think it's a god none the less." He released one side of his sub to point at his brother. More lettuce spilled out, but still Dean seemed to be the only one who noticed. "We've hunted gods before." **

"**Yeah… I remember…. Ypsilanti." Dean grumbled. "Madge and Edward Carrigan…" he growled deep in his throat. "Those fudging ugly ass mother-" **

"**Dean? What was the first rule?" Sam discretely tipped his head to a riveted Ben. Ben noticed and frowned in confusion. **

"**What?" The teen asked. **

**Dean rubbed his chin awkwardly and looked down. "No cussing in front of kids." **

**Ben frowned. "I'm not a kid!" **

**Dean rolled his eyes. "No of course you're not! You're a grown man of forty five!-" **

"**Dean!" Sam raised a brow. "Second rule?" **

**Dean sighed and slumped in his chair. "No arguing with kids." He dropped the cheeseburger and crossed his arms like a petulant child. Not like he got into a fight with every kid he met. There was that one kid who egged his car, but he had it coming! Dean covered a grin at the memory of calling the kid's mother and telling on him. **

**Ben growled and suddenly noticed the mess he had made of his tee shirt. Suddenly the bib didn't seem like such a bad idea. **

"**But like I was saying," Sam tried again, "We've hunted gods – or creatures claiming to **

**be gods - before. The Vanier. Remember that one?" **

**Dean nodded and frowned a little more for good measure. "Remember the town and their version of a party, too. Damn freaks!" **

"**Come across some pretty powerful things." Sam finished. He looked squarely at his brother. Dean returned the grim look. "I think it's important to follow the spell to the **

**letter." **

**Dean sighed and restarted on the burger. "Ok. So what does the spell call for?" **

"**Six white candles, one four-sided crystal, a depiction of the creature in mention and a piece of string." **

"**A piece of string?" Dean mocked. **

"**To tie around the depiction." Sam glared back. **

"**Alright so what do you need me to do?" Ben asked. **

"**To sit there and be very quiet while we perform the spell." Sam said in a no-nonsense voice. Ben sat back in his chair and crossed his arms like Dean had a moment ago.**

**Evening crept closer outside and the three men prepared for the binding spell. Sam and Dean were on the floor in the middle of the room. Dean was pissy because he had to "sit in a circle and chant cumbaya" as he so delicately put it. Ben was sulking because he wasn't getting to play along at all. Sam was slowly getting stressed because his brother refused to stop mocking every little thing about all the work Sam had done himself in preparation for the damn spell. **

"**You had to get a picture of a clown, didn't you?" The youngest Winchester grumbled and sat down in front of his brother. **

**Dean smirked. "You said it didn't have to be a precise likeness and the trickster is a clown spirit." Dean held up the picture of Pennyworth and pointed. "I even drew the crooked nose like the lore says." **

**Sam flinched and swallowed convulsively. Its white faced, red nosed, pointy toothed, filtered-hair glory sneering at him. "Dean, put it down." **

"**We all float down here, Sammy…" He crooned in a high pitched voice, scarily unnatural **

**for someone with a normally deep tone. **

"**Dean, seriously!" Sam plucked the picture away from his brother and slammed it against the floor with a glare. **

"**Just think this way too "new-agey" for us, that's all." He shrugged and sniffed the herb placed in front of him with a scowl. **

"**This isn't new age at all. This is an old spell, Dean," Sam grabbed the herb from his brother and put it back down, "and I'm sure it will work if you just stop dicking around!" **

"**Sam…" Dean tutted in mockery, "...what is rule number one?" He asked in a smart-**

**alecky voice. Behind them Ben chuckled softly. **

"**Bite me!" Sam hissed back and lit one of the white, vanilla scented candles. **

**Dean sniffed the air and grinned at Sam. "Seriously?" **

"**Shut up, it was all they had at the store...!" **

**Dean held up his hands in surrender. **

**Ben tried to cover his chuckle with a cough when Sam glared at him. The younger brother took a deep breath and tried to focus. "You got your notes?" **

"**You mean my lines? Yeah." Dean pulled out a ridiculously crumbled piece of paper from his pocket and flattened it against his thigh before holding it in front of him with a sniff and a nod. "Ready to go when you are, Francis." **

**Sam sighed again and rolled his neck to get rid of the kinks. "Alright. Ben, will you turn of the lights please?" A soft click sounded and the room was bathed in the warm light from six candles. They lit up a circle around the two brothers. Sam cleared his throat and held up his own notes. "I call thee, evil spirit, cruel spirit, merciless spirit." His voice was deep and calm. **

"**I call thee, Eagentci who sits in the cemetery and takes away healing from man." Dean said in a deep cadence. **

"**Go place a knot in Onondakai's head, in his eyes, in his mouth, in his tongue, in his throat, in his windpipe." Sam continued. **

"**If you do not heed my prayer I will send you the evil angels Puziel, Psidiel, Guziel, Prziel." Dean's deep voice rumbled through the gloomy room. **

"**I call thee to quickly place these six knots in Onondakai and bind him." Sam took a deep breath and whispered, "…because I wish it," Before he released it slowly. "Amen." **

"**Amen." **

"**Selah." Sam's almost soundless blessing drifted through the room. A quiet wind blew, **

**almost as an answer to his blessing and made the candles flicker. After the quick whoosh the room silenced. The flickering candles stilled and they returned to their former vanilla-oozing glory. Sam held his breath for a second and waited for something to happen. **

"**That was it?" He asked, fanning the room. **

**Ben flicked on the lights while Sam blew out the candles. **

"**That was the binding spell?" Dean sighed and got out of his crouched position on the floor. He ran a hand down his face and muffled something Sam suspected was more **

**mockery. **

"**That was it," He confirmed. "It wasn't so bad, was it?" He smiled when an old memory popped into his mind. "Not like the time where you punched the doctor because he tried **

**to give you a shot-" **

"**Sam!" Dean barked. **

**He shrugged. "Just saying." **

"**Yeah! An' I'm just saying, I think this is crap. We have no way of knowing if the spell **

**worked." **

"**I think it did." Sam said calmly. **

"**You think?! I'm sorry, but if we're sending a kid in there you better be damn sure!"**

"**I am sure, Dean!" **

"**Uh, guys?" **

"**Stay out, Ben!" Dean barked. "I'm not sending him in if you don't know if the spell worked or not?!" **

"**Why wouldn't it?!" **

**Dean glared disbelievingly. "Why would it!?-" **

"**Remember the part about me not staying behind no matter what?" **

"**Ben, quiet!" Dean barked again. **

**Sam tensed his jaw till it gave a little squeak. "Dean, I'm not going to do anything to put him in danger." He took a step forward and held his hands pleadingly. "I won't let it get to him. I really do think this works." He pleaded with his brother to have faith. One look was all it took for Dean to calm. **

**He looked at Sam's begging, puppy-dog eyes and slumped. He blew out a huff with a tiny purse of his lips. "Any sign of trouble I want him out of there." He held up a finger. Why the hell do I even bother? Not like Sam will listen to me. Not like BEN will listen to me… **

"**Promise-" **

"**I thought we were going in there, looking for trouble?" Ben looked from one brother to the other. "I mean that's the point of hunting, right?" **

**Sam and Dean shared an exhausted glare and turned. "You need to get your things and get ready. We're leaving in five minutes." Dean said before slamming the door to the bathroom. Ben desperately tried to catch the tall hunter's eyes, but failed when Sam turned and headed to load up the car. **

**Ben was caught off guard by a sudden, overwhelming nervousness. **

**He had hunted before. Scarier stuff than a little trickster. Why was this getting to him? He had a second to miss Keo and the way his friend always brought some kind of relief and serenity. Keola had a way of sensing if Ben was worried or nervous. He shrugged the thought off and grabbed his new shotgun when Dean exited the bathroom. **

**Dean caught the nervous look on the young man, but Ben was too quick. He was out the door before Dean even opened his mouth. **

**They left the room, fully packed. Dean had promised to return Ben after the hunt and that meant immediately after in his mind. He closed the door and studied the view of his brother's tall frame leaning against the impala. Ben sliding up next to his brother and the two men basking in the setting sun before Dean would join them. **

**An old memory popped into Dean's mind. A memory not unlike this one. A moment many years ago not long after his father had died. Dean and Sam had shared a moment one late afternoon. The sun had glowed in the exact same way it did now. It was right after Dean left Gordon tied down. A big mistake that they had later paid for. Dean remembered how his life had changed so little and yet so profoundly after that one hunt. Everything stopped being black and white. Vampires were no longer bad by definition and angles would later turn out to be the bane of his and Sam's existence. **

**At first it had seemed like a curse. He remembered doubting his decisions and wondering if the things he killed really deserved killing. It later turned out that the shift in perspective was what saved not only his, but his brother's life too when angles turned out to be the enemy and demons became friends in arms. **

**He watched the two men as he trudged to the driver's side and lingered for a moment. **

**The passenger and backseat doors slammed closed and Dean stared into the setting sun for a second. Enjoying the burn as he closed his eyes. He was still afraid that he was making a mistake by bringing Ben, but time would tell if it led to disaster or perhaps changed his life all over again? He wasn't sure which one he feared the most.**


	13. Face to face with Onondakai

Wow guys sorry for the long update lol was SO busy haha anyways, the next chapter is already written and I will update soon…maybe this weekJ

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Dean picked the heavy locks in seconds. The school doors opened like a gate with a screech. Sam followed to Dean's left and Ben tailed behind after Sam half a step behind. They stayed close and they stayed in line of sight. 'One of Dean's control-freak rules._'_ Ben had bitched about it at first, but hid how much comfort it really gave him to know Dean and Sam were right beside him.

Since the first time he had seen Dean he had felt a strange hero admiration for the man. Partly because they had seemed so alike, partly because Dean's face was the one he remembered seeing first in that basement. The glow of the sun surrounding him like a halo and the embodiment of freedom. Ben, a scared impersonation of the man Dean Winchester really was.

They pushed the door closed behind them and took a second to take in the darkness. Dean had explained that it was necessary to take a second to develop night vision. Even when it was already dark outside. You still needed to adjust to the slightly darker indoors. Ben stood and tried to make out the paintings on the walls. All of them made by the students. He noticed patterns in the floor and doors down the hall to his left and right. Slowly he even started to notice shadows in the dark.

Dean started moving forward.. They had studied the layout for the school grounds in preparation. Ben hadn't felt it was necessary to memorize it, but now that he was there he felt comforted by it.

"Sam, Ben, you take the hall to the left. We circle around and meet behind the library." Dean fired off.

"Alright." Was Sam's quiet reply.

Ben didn't like the idea of splitting up, but he wasn't about to protest it. Not with Dean already doubting his involvement in the hunt. He noticed that Sam followed the order without question. Ben couldn't figure out the brothers' relationship. Some orders were followed without question while others were open to negotiation or direct refusal. He had seen Sam take charge as many times as he had Dean, but he still couldn't figure out how they aligned themselves so perfectly to the other's mind. It was like they knew what the other was thinking.

The dark halls wound and curled. Sam and he walked quietly through a glass hall. The night sky was visible above the streetlights. It was like looking out through a fish tank. Like being on display. It made Ben feel vulnerable. Trees swayed in the gentle breeze blowing outside and made the shadows inside dance.

Like a slow hypnosis he stopped and watched the trees dancing in the whispering wind. He never noticed how Sam crept further and further into the darkness.

Dean was walking down a hall close to the library when he heard it. He immediately knew something was wrong. Some sense on the edge of his consciousness warned him that the night had changed. The air had shifted minutely. Barely perceivable, but Dean noticed. He fingered the phone in his pocket and listened intently.

Something whispered in the dark. Sweet honeysuckle voices lulled him closer and peaked his curiosity. He noticed a large painting on the wall and stepped up in front of it. His eyes slid from corner to corner of the piece in a trance. Abstract shapes shimmered in the dimmed lights like eyes glancing at him. Little voice giggled and teasing smiles lit up the canvas.

Out of nowhere a face slowly started forming. A beautiful woman. Eyes like the moon, lips sweet and wet. She smiled down at him and blew him a kiss. A sweet scent spread through the air. Like sugar. Sticky and teasing. He smiled up at her pretty mouth and ignored the reasoning part of him, telling him it was wrong.

She suddenly smiled down and raised a hand. The canvas billowed like rings in a lake. She stretched the slender hand forward as he did the same. Her brilliant eyes were inescapable. She leaned closer, through the canvas. Her lips glistened like stars sparkling in deep, forest lakes. She sighed softly when he stretched to reach her. His deep breaths was the only sound in the room besides from her soft sighs.

"…_._Dean…."

She leaned in for the last bit and connected her sweet lips with his. Light as a feather at first, but the kiss quickly deepened. They breathed into each other and her hands slowly crept out of the painting and grabbed his head. He felt her greedy tongue digging deeper between his lips. Sucking out his energy. Claiming his entire focus.

Her hands were strong. She was pulling him closer too fast. Something inside him clicked and he yanked back with a fierce move. She clawed after him, still making her sweet crooning sighs. Her eyes saddened as he pulled back.

"What the hell is this…" He mumbled to no one in particular. She tipped her head at him and faded back into the painting. His breath was coming too fast. His heart was fluttering. Without looking back he turned and started running for their rendezvous point behind the library.

Sam stopped suddenly when a breeze tickled the back of his neck. He turned and froze.

"Ben?"

The hallway behind him was quiet and dark.

"Ben?!"

His breaths came in huffs and he started running back the way he came. He was quietly cursing himself for letting Ben out of his sight. When he came to a bend in the hall right before the glass hall he slowed and brought up his gun. This was where he had last seen Ben. He rounded the corner and stopped when all he found was a white wall. Not quite believing what he was seeing, he put his hands on it and punched it a bit for good measure.

"No!"

Solid.

How the hell did that get here?

It hadn't been there before. Unless this wasn't the way they'd come? He looked back and wondered if he should turned back and head for the library. Dean would worry. He would worry a fist into Sam's face if Ben wasn't with him. In seconds Sam turned and started running for the meeting point. He needed his brother if he was going to find Ben. It didn't matter if Dean never forgave him as long as Ben was ok.

He hurled through the empty halls until something snagged his foot and sent him sprawling. He banged his head against the wall and blacked out before he even hit the ground.

Ben suddenly looked up when he heard someone yelling his name. It sounded muffled. He blinked and wondered why he had dozed off like that. Where he was? Where Sam was?

Ben…

There it was again. Sam's voice, but muffled. Ben was about to call back when he heard another and far more disturbing sound in the distance. Back the way they came. He crept along the walls with his shotgun in front of him and his eyes trained on the dark.

Strange mumbling reached his ears.

He ground his jaw at the voice. It sounded like a woman. He rounded a corner and could see a soft glow from candles light up the halls. In front of the lights was a girl dressed in black. She felt familiar somehow. He inched closer and almost had a heart attack when she suddenly stood in a rush and screamed out in shock.

"Jesus!" He yelled back at her surprised scream. She was looking at him, shaking.. "Who are you?"

He saw her tip her head slightly. "It's you!" She said in surprise.

"Who are you?" He asked again. She grabbed a flashlight and lit it, pointing it to her face.

"It's me. Karly. Remember? The girl at the football game?" She looked carefully hopeful at him.

His mind was spinning. What girl? Then he remembered. Girl dressed in black that day too. Black hair, nice smile that lit up her face. She turned the flashlight on Ben and took a step back in fear when she saw the gun.

"W-What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same." Ben said and gestured to the candles.

She glanced at them and swallowed nervously. "I-I'm performing a spell."

"A spell?" Ben asked incredulously.

She nodded and he could already see the disappointment setting in. "It's alright if you don't believe me. Nobody does." She shook her head a little.

"What kind of spell?" He asked with confirming her suspicions of him.

She stared for a second. "A protection spell. Something's going on here and I intend to stop it." She said in a strong voice.

"How do you know about protection spells?" He asked, carefully weighing his words.

She wouldn't stop staring at him. "I'm not exactly a normal girl, Ben."

His name briefly had him tensing until he remembered that he gave it to her when they met. "We have that in common then."

"What do you mean?"

"I know something is going on here. I've seen it." He said and stepped closer, lowering his gun.

"Do you know what it is?" She inched a little closer too.

"A trickster."

"Seriously?" She eyed him in disbelief.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah?"

"They're real?"

"Yeah, you know about them?"

She huffed and ran a hand down her face. "Yeah I know. I've done a bit of reading." She shrugged and something about her changed. "And of course living as one for nearly three thousand years help." She smiled as Ben's face fell.

He froze.

Her smile grew as his fear skyrocketed. He brought up his gun, but it was viciously ripped out of his hands by a phantom force. She tisked at him waggled a finger. "You know what you're fighting and you still bring a gun to kill me?" With a wave of her hand she forced him back against the wall.

He hit it with a huff. The air in his chest was forced out all at once. "I-I'm n-not al-lone." He forced out through clenched teeth. She actually smiled at him.

"I know all about your little friends. They're the ones I felt at the cemetery back in Cicero." She sauntered closer and ran a finger along the wall. As she came closer he felt his chest squeeze tighter.

"T-They're gonna k-kill y-you…"

"I doubt that." She was still smiling. "You see, that little binding spell you did, had me confused for a little while. I could feel it happening, but I didn't know what it was." She reached his incapacitated body and giggled when she ran a finger over his chest. "Then you three showed up and it suddenly became clear-"

He knew he had to buy time. "Kate saw you back in Cicero!" He choked out. "You looked nothing like this…!"

"Nooo, I had to change. You see I can bend reality as I wish. Make you see anything I want.." She leaned up close enough that he could smell her hair. Sweet like flowers. "Make you feel…." She giggled at his response, "…anything…"

"Back off!!" Dean's strong voice called down the hall.

She turned with a hiss. Her eyes flashed over with a cold blue and Ben felt her fingers like knives of ice. "AAHHH!" He couldn't help the cry that was forced from him when one of her nails dug into his skin.

"STOP!" Dean ordered with his gun held in front of him.

Ben couldn't help the whimper when she squeezed a little tighter.

"I'll kill you I swear to God!!" His voice was an angry order and a warning growl at the same time.

The trickster looked at him with a smile and cold, blue eyes. "You shouldn't worry so much about him," She glanced back up at Ben and back at Dean. "You should worry more about your brother."

Ben saw his face fall and could feel the fear in his own chest as well. _Sam_. If something had happened to him Ben would make sure the trickster paid for it.

"I'll kill you if you hurt my brother!" Dean hissed.

The trickster laughed and threw her head back. "That's what the whelp said."

"Let him go."

"Or what?" She challenged.

Dean bit his lip and glared at the trickster as he tightened his grip around the wooden stake, "You'll die…!"

"If you kill me Dean, the boy dies too," She glanced up at Ben and smiled.

Dean hesitated unsure on when to make his move. He either killed the trickster right away and risked Ben's life – That's not an option… Lisa would kill me - OR he stalled it and waited for Sam. A plan was slowly forming in the recesses of his mind.

Sam awoke to a pounding skull and little lights blinking around his head. With drunken dizziness he came to his knees and stumbled before coming to a complete stand. With one hand and his head resting on the wall he stayed for a minute, taking deep breaths.

Then something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Something brushed by his neck, feather light. He flinched back with a yelp and stared at the phenomenon appearing before his very eyes. The wall was alive. Long, dark green vines stretched out in front of him. With spidery tentacles they brushed the wall, looking for purchase.

Wriggling, twitching, squeezing. The huge plant was growing before his very eyes. He squeezed his gun and took a shaky step back. With another yelp he jumped when something slithered up his boot. The huge plant wasn't just on the wall. It was spreading like a spider's web across the floor. Green tentacles were slithering up the walls like they were alive. His heart started pounding and racing in fear. The vines tried to snake around his ankle again and he dodged. With a gazelle-like jump he avoided being tripped by the slim fingers of the grotesque plant. He stomped down on one of the vines and felt a small amount of satisfaction when the plant whimpered. It was growing across the floor, from wall to wall and up the ceiling. When it started making little squeaking noises Sam figured it was time to get the hell outta dodge.

He turned and almost flinched back several feet. Behind him another wall had formed, but not like anything he had seen before. The plant was trapping him. Without thinking he brought up his gun and shot at the green mass of strings. The first bullet hit and the plant almost screamed in fury. Sam felt the sound slicing through his brain and making him dizzy. With stumbling steps he backed off. The tentacles reached out, snagging his clothes, his skin and his face, crawling under his shirt, into his ears, his nose and up his pants. Beginning to feel frantic he started swinging his arms. The tentacles were slithering under his clothes and grabbing his skin with little nicks. Ripping into his skin, little by little.

"Ahh!"

One of them ripped a tear in his chest. The blood started flowing and quickly left a growing stain on his shirt. The plant seemed to purr at the taste of his blood. It vibrated with pleasure and doubled its efforts at claiming him as its prey. More and more snakelike arms shot out from the massive, moving wall and were pulling him closer. The little tentacles started pricking holes in his skin and absorbing the blood. More and more arms slithered around his body. The more he struggled the more arms appeared. They wrapped around him like a cocoon until air became hard to breathe. He couldn't expand his chest and his skin was on fire from the little cuts. He could feel them against his skin, wriggling and tickling. Goosebumps rippled nonstop over him. With a burst of panic he brought up his gun and fired at one of the tentacles trying to creep into his mouth. The gun went off dangerously close to his head and left a giant ringing in his ears. The plant screamed in agony and he started struggling to get free.

Kicking and shooting at anything he could see, the plant slowly loosened its grip. The second he hit the ground he lunged. He ripped at the plant-arms trying to crawl inside his clothes and scurried away. The plant had grown enormously in the few seconds he had been locked in its grip. The minute amount of blood it had drawn from Sam. He looked back once before rounding the corner and saw the spidery tentacles reaching and screaming for his blood.

With his heart in his throat and his skin still crawling he ran back towards the glass-hall. Suddenly there was nothing stopping him. Without thinking twice he hurled himself in the direction he had left Ben.

And then suddenly he heard a scream.

"I'll tell you again…" Dean growled animally low and circled around the trickster, "let Ben go or I'll kill you…"

"You? Kill me? With what?" The trickster laughed.

"Oh, just a little surprise I have…doesn't matter, you're going to die anyway." Dean angled himself so he had his front to the exit and his back to the wall. Ben was suspended to his left with the trickster's hand around his neck.

She squeezed and made him gasp. Without thinking he lunged at the creature and pushed Ben out of the way. Ben was thrown several feet to his right while he and the trickster went down in a bundle. The girl it had decided to impersonate stared up at him with wide eyes, but moved before he could.

With a lightning quick movement she lifted a hand and flung Dean against a wall. She rolled to her feet with cat-like grace and stalked closer to him. "You see, Dean, my powers may be diminished, but they're far from gone."

Sam heard a cry from pain and whirled around another corner before he saw Ben flying to the ground. "Ben!"

"Sam…?" The kid choked out in a ragged gasp.

Sam could tell his face was red even in the dark. "Ben, are you hurt? Are you okay?" He crouched and saw his brother tackling the trickster before being pushed into a wall.

"No I'm fine…you don't look okay though," Ben was looking up worriedly when Dean hit the wall. Ben and Sam both flinched when Dean impacted and Sam sprung to his feet.

"It's okay, Ben! It doesn't matter!" Sam said quickly, "You gotta get outta here," And ran towards the trickster without looking to see if the boy followed his directions. "DEAN!" He pounded head first into the petite girl looming over his brother and threw them both to the floor.

Karly rolled to her feet and sneered at the intruder. "I'm gonna rip your throat out,

hunter…!" She hissed and flung out her arm.

Sam pounded into the wall behind him with a thump and air squeezed out of him.

In the background he saw his brother lunging from the floor. He swung the stake with one hand and aimed it at the trickster's heart. He didn't manage to stake her through the back, before she turned. Instead of stabbing her in the back he punched it in her chest. The tip of the stake was the only part buried.

"Don't please!" Her eyes widened in fear of impending death.

"A creature like you begging for mercy? I don't think so…" Dean growled and slowly pushed the stake in deeper. Her hold on his brother was released and he fell to the floor.

"I….…..know…….a-…….secret……" She gurgled through the blood gathering in her mouth.

"Don't we all." He growled and pushed the stake a little deeper.

"It's Be-"

Before the trickster could finish the sentence he pushed the stake clean through her chest. The trickster stared up at him through wide eyes as if not believing her fate. "Told you I'd kill you….!" He growled and yanked the stake out. She fell to the ground, dead.

Dean aided his brother and supported him when Sam teetered. "You look like shit." He frowned over the blood seeping from dozens little wounds all over Sam's skin. "C'mon."

Sam just frowned and allowed himself to be nudged towards the exit.

Ben was waiting outside the school, worrying if Dean and Sam were okay. The minutes went by like hours and just as he had decided to go against a direct order he saw the doors slamming open. Guess Dean was done playing it stealthy. Ben took a deep breath and held it as he saw the brothers stumbling out.

"Are you ok?" Dean asked as they came towards him.

"Me? Yeah. How about you?" He hovered around Sam when he saw the older Winchester stumbling under the weight.

"Yeah. We just need a nice nap, huh Sam?" His voice didn't hold the carefree tone as usually, but it seemed to have the desired effect.

"Bite me, jerk!" Sam grumbled when Dean lugged him in the back of the car.

"Yeah yeah, Francis." Dean grinned and nudged Sam's boot with his knee before closing the door. Ben hovered uneasily as Dean shut the door. He didn't know what to say. Somehow he knew it was his fault, but he didn't know how to explain it to the two hunters. "Let's get outta here, kiddo." He clapped a hand on Ben's back before opening the driver door and sliding in.

Ben followed without a word. With an anxious glance in the back he swallowed. "Are you sure you're ok?" He directed the question to Sam who looked up with glazed eyes. He was bleeding from several, little wounds.

"Yeah, Ben. Like Dean said; just need a nap, 's all." He leaned back with a wince and closed his eyes.

Dean smiled quickly, but didn't say anything.

"Dean, I'm sorry…" Ben almost whispered. He wouldn't look up and could feel his face reddening when Dean turned his sharp eyes to him.

"What do you mean Ben?"

"It's my fault," He gestured vaguely to Sam bleeding in the back.

Dean frowned and cleared his throat a little uneasily. "Ben, it's not your fault, okay?" He was having trouble looking into the boy's eyes. "Things like this happen to us all the time…its okay… relax." He cleared his throat again and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Were not mad at you. Right Sam?" He glanced at his brother, hoping for some support.

"Right. No reason to be, Ben." Ben glanced back and Sam offered a quick smile. "You did good." Ben almost smiled back.

Dean smiled briefly over the small win. The kid was fine and the beasty was pushing up daisies. "Yeah.... Anyway, let's head back and clean up." He looked at Ben and caught the kid's attention. "Then you're going home."


	14. Right answers to unknown questions

**Well guys...this is the last chapter...I'm really sad to see this story go I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I had...maybe a sequel...hhhmm..:)**

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The motel room was humming with unease. It was beaming from the teenager in waves. Dean hadn't felt this angsty since he was seventeen and he wasn't liking it. "Ben, calm down. Sit." He pointed to the chair in front of him. Sam was on the bed, resting from the sowing job Dean had to perform. At one point he thought Ben would throw up at a particularly bad wound to Sam's chest. But the kid held it in. Now he just looked pale and tired and Dean couldn't have that. Not if Lisa was going to inspect him when they brought him back. He wouldn't give that woman anything to grill his ass over.

"I'm fine," Ben said a little half-assed.

"I know…" Dean glared. "Humour me."

Ben huffed - _seemed like the kid did that a lot_ - and sat down. Dean pulled back the t-shirt and examined his neck. "Looks like some serious bruising, but nothing permanent."

"No scars, huh?" Ben asked with a smirk. "Too bad. Chicks dig 'em."

Dean grinned, but couldn't seem to keep it there. Ben reminded him too much of himself. Of Sam too sometimes. It was scary how much the kid looked like him. With a nervous swallow he looked away and picked up a cooling pad for Ben to keep on his neck. He shook it and waited until it cooled. "Yeah, Ben listen… uh, Lisa is not gonna be very happy with us when we get back so I need you to let me and Sam do the talking."

"I'm not gonna let you take the fall for this. I wanted to come." Ben looked sharply at him.

"Yeah, Ben, I know. But facts are, we shouldn't have let you. This could have gone much worse."

Ben glanced over at Sam sleeping. "I'm sorry…" He whispered and bowed his head.

Dean's face fell and he had to stop himself from shaking the teen. "Ben, look at me," Ben looked up reluctantly. "This wasn't your fault." He looked back down, but Dean reached out and grabbed his chin. "Not your fault."

Ben wouldn't keep eye contact, but Dean wouldn't let up. "We decided to bring you along and who knows what would have happened if you hadn't…"

Ben grinned humorlessly. "Sam wouldn't have gotten hurt, looking for me. _You_ wouldn't have been thrown against a wall, trying to save me!"

Dean grinned at that one. "I get thrown against walls on a daily basis. Been doing it for ten years and I gotta say I'm getting pretty good." He smiled when Ben grinned. He nudged his shoulder. "Hey, kid, listen to me…" Ben looked back up. "We do this because we know the risks. One hunt is all it takes for you not to come back. Anyone of them could be your last." Ben's eyes darkened and Dean continued. "But the thing is… you can't tell someone how it is to be a hunter. They have to see." He sighed, ran a hand down his face and sat back.

"That was something I didn't learn until late in my life. I'm afraid Sam learned too _early_ in _his_." He looked up at the intently attentive Ben. "What you've experienced here, only you can judge. Good or bad isn't really the point." Dean held up a finger when Ben made to interrupt. "What matters……is what _you_ decide to do with it."

Ben frowned and sat back. "What I decide to do with it?"

Dean nodded seriously.

"Isn't that kinda lame?" He asked with an arched brow.

Dean stuttered for a second and frowned. "What?"

"That's your advice?" Ben arched the other brow.

Dean frowned and pursed his lips. "Yeah?"

"It sucks…" Ben said dryly.

"What, you got a better one?" Dean challenged. The kid was getting on his nerves.

Ben shrugged. "Don't know… What about: This is not a game, so don't treat it like one."

"I told you that!" Dean barked. "But you didn't listen-"

"Dean," Ben grinned. "I'm messing with you…" He smile grew as Dean's scowl did too.

"Not funny,"

"It was a little."

"I agree with Ben," Sam mumbled from the bed and rubbed his eyes. The sun was rising outside. "What time is it?"

Dean glanced at his watch. "Five thirty,"

"We should get going. I'm gonna take a shower." Sam rolled out of bed with a quiet wince. Ben and Dean both watched at him out of the corner of their eye. The door closed behind him and Ben looked back at Dean.

"You think he's gonna be alright?" Ben asked in a voice far too insecure for him.

Dean drew his lips back in the shadow of a smile. "I'm sure."

The rural neighborhood grew as they closed the distance to the small town in Indiana. He could almost imagine the perfect housewife waiting on the curb with an ageless smile and a plate of cookies. Ben had grown alarmingly silent as the car ate away the miles to 'home'. He was in the backseat, looking out the windows with vague signs of recognition on his face. Dean had never seen an expression so simultaneously frightened and serene. He had never really known home.

They spotted the ocher red home with white painted windows. Old pine trees sweetened the air and daisies pushed through the lawn. It was picture perfect with even a white picket fence to complete the picture. "We're here," Dean said quietly; as if any of them didn't know.

"Home sweet home." Ben muttered under his breath.

Sam and Dean shared a glance, but didn't say anything to the solemn tone in Ben's voice. They pulled onto the cub and into the driveway. The engine grumbled to a stop and Lisa came out with sparkling eyes. Dean had been prepared for tears, but wasn't so sure he was as ready to face them as he thought. _Oh, god; if she starts sobbing…?_

Ben stepped out as the first with his own eyes glimmering. "M-Mom," She rushed down with her arms out and pulled him into a tight hug before Sam or Dean were even out of the car. He hugged her right back just as tightly.

"I was so wor-worried." She cried into her son's shoulder. Relief showed clearly on inch of her body.

"I'm sorry, mom…" Ben cried silently into her shoulder.

Dean found himself smiling to his own surprise at the blissful reunion. It went better than he had imagined.

"And you!"

Her voice was like the bells of doom; angelic trumpets blowing to war. Her stance changed to one of a fierce warrior willing to stop at nothing to protect her son. A lioness with teeth and claws made for shredding. But her teeth were words and her claws were the blame in her eyes.

"This is the LAST time you get to do this to me!!!" She roared.

A small part of Dean didn't blame her reaction one bit, but the dominant part of him, however, did. "Now, just wait a minute-"

"No!" She stopped directly in front of him, blinded with rage. "You LET him follow you and even when you _knew_ what was there you didn't send him home!-"

"I tried to talk to him-"

"You should've tried harder!!!"

Sam watched the scene unfold with blessed objectivity. He watched the heartache in Ben's eyes when he saw his mother and his hero fighting each other. A promise flashed behind Sam's eyes. A promise he knew his brother had made to his father a long time ago; one Dean lived up to every single day. _I promise to protect him_-

"You have NO idea how worried I was!-"

"YOU??! You weren't the one who put your body in the line of fire for him!-"

"Because you _took_ him from me!-"

"Guys, STOP!" Sam shouted. One bark was enough to silence the two combatants. It echoed like a blast and shook everything. They both turned to him with big eyes and Sam knew for the first time what it would have felt like to have seen his mom and dad arguing. He knew what it would have felt like to step back and watch with fresh eyes. For the first time in his life he did something he had never been able to with his father OR brother:

He backed out of the fight.

"This isn't about you!" He said forcefully. His eye slid to Ben's who was staring at him with a bleak expression. "What do _you_ want?" Ben's face fell in shock. Sam realized the potential _colossal_ mistake he was making, but knew he needed to have faith in the kid if neither his brother nor Ben's mother would. He looked closely at the teen and nodded softly for comfort. Ben glanced from Dean to Lisa with an almost frightened look in his eyes.

"Wh-What?" Lisa looked as confused as her son and Sam was finding it increasingly easy to stay objective.

"It's his life; he should get to choose."

"What is there to choose?" Lisa rushed, but Dean interrupted.

"He's already made his choice! Sam?! What the hell are you talking about? He came with us, remember?" He arched both brows disbelievingly at his brother, but Sam didn't stop.

"Yeah, but what about the rest of it?" Sam didn't take his eyes from the teen that was slowly looking more and more confident. "The rest of his life?"

"What?!" Dean backed out of his match with Lisa and headed for Sam.

"He's going back to school and he's going to college!" Lisa's final word hung in the air like the aftershock of a bomb and everybody fell silent. Doubt surging through the air like radiation.

"But what if he doesn't want to?" Sam asked with his eyes glued to Ben's. He turned to his brother and it all suddenly became so clear. "College isn't for everybody," Dean's expression fell and softened to mild confusion. Sam looked squarely at Lisa who suddenly looked like she'd had an anvil dropped on her.

"How-…?" She looked with wide, unblinking eyes from Dean to Sam.

Sam's eyes softened as emotion rolled over him. He was realizing why she was so desperate to keep her son innocent. Why she was so desperate to keep him for herself. She didn't want Ben's father to take him away. "Does he know?" Her expression became, if possible, even more shocked. Crystal tears dripped from her bottom lids and down her cheeks.

Ben was staring at Sam and Lisa like they were both insane. "What?" Dean prompted.

Sam sighed shakily at the shock of his sudden realization. The fact that the little hints he had seen; the minute similarities he had recognized ever since picking Ben up at the cemetery, were all culminating. The big _'what if'_ he had been brewing for so long was suddenly being dropped on him and all his notions and forewarnings didn't matter _shit_. Because this was real. _This_ was no longer an idea floating in his mind. _This_ was confirmed by the lost look in Lisa's face and the shared confusion between Ben and his brother.

"Mom?" Ben was staring at his mom as if trying to look into her soul.

Lisa choked off a sob and covered her mouth with one hand. "B-Ben-" Her voice died in mid-air.

Dean stared at his brother as if willing an answer from him, but Sam wouldn't budge. "I'm right aren't I?" Sam asked shocked. Nothing she could say now could surprise him anymore, because he already knew what his brother and _nephew_ had yet to figure. The world shifted on its axis, but stayed exactly the same.

"Dean, I need you to leave." Lisa said all of a sudden.

Dean turned to her with his eyes even bigger and his brows nearing his hairline. "What?!" He and Ben were still clueless.

"Please," She looked into his eyes like she had the first time they left and Sam knew Dean would obey. He couldn't refuse her. Never had. "Just for a little while."

Sam could see the insecurity in his brother and stepped in with a comforting hand. He let it fall on his brother's shoulder and nudged him like Dean had with Sam only hours before. "C'mon, Dean. Let them talk."

Dean allowed himself to be pulled back with confused looks directed at both Lisa and Ben. "Lisa, what-….?"

"C'mon, brother. She'll tell us later." He whispered into his brother's ear.

Lisa nodded in consolation before Dean shuffled to the driver's side with big, vulnerable eyes. Her own, overflowing with emotion.

Dean huffed in frustration and Sam had never felt worse for him. His brother got in behind the wheel and started the car almost instantly. Sam followed with one last, comforting smile to Ben. "We'll come back later." He ensured Lisa; because even though he knew this was a conversation between Ben and his mother, he also _knew_ that his brother deserved to know the truth. And Sam deserved to have his suspicions confirmed.

The car rolled out of the driveway just as nosey neighbors started peeking out through shrouded windows.

"Ben…" Lisa sat down on the couch with her hands in her lap.

Her son took a seat in the lounge chair opposite her. "Mom…?"

She wiped the slow trickle of tears that were continuously flowing from her eyes. "I ha-have to tell you something,"

Ben's eyes filled with empathy mixed with suspicion.

"I lied to you," She said with tears running down her eyes.

Ben became more suspicious and less empathetic.

"So many times…" She hiccupped and wiped a sweaty palm down her face to get rid of the tears.

"What, mom?"

"Everytime you asked me if Dean was your father," The look of shock on Ben's face brought on another hiccup from his mother. "I'm so sorry…"

Ben tore his eyes away from his mother's and stared at a spot on the rug. "What…?" His voice was a pale whisper of his usual timber.

"He's your dad…" She looked like she was holding her breath in anticipation of her son's reaction. When he didn't react at all she sobbed again. "I'm SO sorry-"

Ben stood abruptly, still staring at the same stop on the floor. "What…?"

"Ben…." She reached out, but he ripped loose with a withering glare.

"You lied to me!!!" Her words only now sank in.

"I'm sorry!" She shifted on the edge of the couch when her son backed away from her, but didn't stand. "You have to understand why I did it-"

"I don't want to!" Tears were gathering in his eyes, his lips trembling.

"Please, Ben- I did it to protect you-"

"I didn't want you to!!" He shouted down at her.

She was shaking with her hands over her mouth. "P-Please…"

"No!" He backed away with big, scared eyes. "All those times I asked… asked if he was my real dad-…" His voice died. "You _lied_ to me!" The word stung worse than any hit he had ever taken. "You're my _mother_ and you _lied_ to me!"

"I didn't want you to follow him; to waste your life saving strangers-"

"That was MY decision to make!!!" His face was blushing with anger.

"Not when you're still just a kid-"

"Bullshit, mom!! I stopped being a kid when those things took me-" He was crying.

"Please, Ben-"

"I hate you!" He cried and turned without another word, heading for the backdoor. He heard his mother in the background, but didn't stop.

"_Ben!"_

He ran; not caring who noticed him sprinting past with tears in his eyes; not caring who noticed his disheveled clothes and bruises from last night's fight. All he could think about was how hurt he was. How lonely he suddenly felt. His legs working to push him forward. Without really looking where he was going he picked a direction. Seemed to follow a familiar path. Tall willow trees rose on either side of the road. Long slender branches reached lovingly for his shoulders. The wind sighed to him in compassion. His tears had stopped. His face was burning as were his eyes. He stopped when he saw the house appear in front of him as if by magic. Normal and cozy. His eyes slid over the façade to the right second floor window. A wind chime jingled playfully in the strong northern winds. His breath was still coming in huffs when he felt someone behind him. A shocked breath nearly drowned out by the wind in his ears.

He turned and came face to face with two, blue eyes. Brown hair, framing a pale face. Heavy bangs in her eyes and black polish on her nails. A leash in her hand and a terrier trying to hurl itself at him with more energy than the energizer-bunny on caffeine.

"Ben?" Katie's surprise was measurable in her face. Every inch of that sweet face.

Ben didn't think. He knew she could see the tears. He knew she had missed him, maybe not like he had missed her, but still… He took one big step to her and cupped both hands around her face. His lips leaned in for a feather light touch. His eyes closed and a whole world of new senses opened up to him. The smell in the air, the soft tickle of her heavy bangs against his forehead, her sweet tongue licking against his, her black polished nails caressing his sides and those thin fingers curling into his shirt. She pulled back and slowly opened her eyes. Something in them had changed. She seemed somber. More sad than he had ever seen her.

"Hi," He answered with a quick inhale.

She smiled and pulled him close again for a deeper kiss. Her hand crept around the back of his head and pulled him close with the other. He could feel her smile through her wet lips. A single and blissfully simple thought boomed through his mind. A tornado in sheer intensity, a roar of joy and pure ecstasy. _SHE MISSED ME!!_ He smiled in response without pulling back.

The world slipped away. The rodent of a dog, pulling the leash in frantic search of the squirrel that got away, the cars driving by in the distance, the people waiting at home for each of them. It all just melted away.

"Come inside with me," She said with a half grin.

Ben growled low in his throat and leaned his forehead against hers. His hands brushed gently through her smooth hair. "I can't,"

She sighed regretfully. "Tell me you're not leaving again," Her nimble hands snuck up around his neck.

"I'm not,"

"Promise?" She whispered sweetly and rubbed her cheek longingly against his.

"I promise,"

"Good." With that she released him and stepped back. A grin pulled over her face for the quickest of seconds. "Now go talk to Keo." She bobbed her head. His ridiculous frown had her smiling again. "We have plenty of time to talk," She stepped close. With one hand on his waist and the other holding the frantically pulling dog she reached up for a quick peck on his lips. Like she had known him forever. "Don't be long," And with that she turned and pulled the dog with her home.

Ben sighed and couldn't help smile when the instant replay brought the moment they had just shared back in Technicolor. His grin stayed on as he turned. Suddenly the world had changed. He wasn't walking away to stay gone. _See you later_.

_The sixth sense_ was a strange and indefinable thing. No one really knew if it was real of simply some weird folklore that made people feel better about being freaks. All Ben knew was that when he rounded the corner to Keola's road the guy was already waiting on his porch steps. He looked up to meet Ben's eyes like he wasn't the least bit surprised.

"Hey, Keo." Ben said quietly, measuring his friend's response.

"What took you so long?" Keo asked and got to his feet. Ben's face split in a grin and he was pulled into a tight hug.

"She called you, did she?" He pulled back and saw the smile that brightened Keo's face.

"You really think she could keep it to herself?" He arched a brow and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "C'mon inside, my mom made brownies." His dimpled smile was more persuasive than a salesman's.

Ben didn't stop smiling until reality pummeled him again. He stopped with Keo's hand on his shoulder, trying to guide him inside.

"Dude?"

Ben looked up with a frown on his face. "I can't."

Keo frowned like he knew. "You gonna tell me how it went at least?"

Ben smiled briefly. "We killed the monster and saved the day." Saying it out loud brought a strange warmth to his chest. It felt missed.

Keo nodded sagely. "You mean you managed without me…" He corrected.

Ben smiled and nodded.

"You gonna tell me what else happened?" Keo tilted his head to catch Ben's eye. "I know you didn't get that long face from saving the day,"

Ben looked everywhere but at his friend. "What would you do if you found out someone you loved spent your whole life lying to you?"

"Lying about what?" He frowned concerned.

The sound of wind rushing by rose in volume. "About whom you really were? Where you came from?" Ben frowned under the bursts of sunlight under the fluffy clouds.

Keo stalled and stopped completely. "Who lied to you, Ben?" Something so soft slipped over his whole demeanor. Something so warm and comforting. Like there was one person not related to Ben who would still protect him from anything life threw at them. The soft voice was accompanied by two compassionate eyes.

"My mom," He could feel his eyes burning again, but tried not to break down completely.

"What did she lie about?"

He shrugged away from the heavy hand on his shoulder and created space between him and his friend. Emotions he could deal with if he had to, but physical contact on top of the chick flick moment was too much even for the otherwise empathetic boy. "M-My dad." He could feel his damn lips trembling again. Keo, bless him, read Ben like an open book and backed off physically. He leaned back and sat back down on the porch steps. Ben stumbled over how to say everything he needed to. _Wanted to._

"Dean Winchester is your dad, isn't he?"

Keo, bless him twice, knew everything there was to know about his friend. As did Ben with him. They had talked about it when they first started thinking about hunting. About the cool hunters who saved all the children on Priscilla Road. Dean and Sam Winchester. True heroes the two boys had always strived to emulate. He didn't even know how to respond to a guy who knew everything anyway. He couldn't bring himself to even nod. All he could do was stand there and swallow convulsively. Keo recognized that sign as well as the others. He nodded as if Ben's failure to respond was all the answer he needed.

"Figured as much,"

"Yeah, I wish you would have shared that suspicion with me though." Ben said and sat down. "How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?" He asked the wind blowing against his face.

Keo shrugged. "What do you want to take from it?"

For a kid, who was usually so carefree and unable to take even the direst of situations seriously, could surprise you. Blow you away with such a simple question. Ben had no idea what he wanted to take from it. His frown registered with Keo.

"What do _you_ want?" He simplified and shrugged when Ben glanced over.

"It's as simple as that?"

"If you want it to be?" Keo answered cryptically.

Ben huffed and rubbed a hand down his face. "Oh god, I wish it could be,"

A stern expression slipped over Keo's face. "This, coming from a kid who grew up with his dad in prison: There are a hundred worse choices you could be facing right now." His harsh eyes bored into Ben's and made guilt and shame blossom.

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologize. Tell me what you want to happen. Verbalize it; make it tangible."

Ben huffed with a grin. "Look who's Dali Lama all of a sudden."

Keo nudged him. "Seriously, dude,"

Ben huffed again and looked up in thought. "I want peace…. I want action. I want my mom and dad to live together and _not_ hate each other-"

"They don't hate each other." Keo interrupted.

"You should see them-"

"My dad robbed a liquor store with a sawed off shot gun and my mom still sends him muffins every Christmas in jail." Keo smiled a little sadly. "Everybody gets a little twisted sometimes," He said with his eyes one the clouds and Ben's gaze on his face. "Just because they don't fight it doesn't mean they don't love each other. If anything it means they love each other more."

"Yeah, hate's not the opposite of love… I know the saying." Ben said sadly.

"Then use that big fucking brain of yours and be realistic."

Ben couldn't help but glare a little at the harsh words, but knew he needed to hear them. "You think they could ever make it work?"

"Would you really want them to sacrifice parts of themselves to do it?" He countered and, _damn_, if Keo wasn't right.

"No," Ben said quietly.

"Then what do you really want?"

The clouds rolled by above. Never stopping, never slowing. "I want to move…"He said with a faraway look. "I'm ready to move. To do something more with my life," He looked his friend square in the eye. "You know?"

Keo nodded sadly. "It means you have to leave everything, though."

Ben nodded. "I know." A wistful smile brightened his face. "Doesn't mean I have to do it right now, though."

Keo's frown made it all worth it.

Ben smiled. "What? You think I'm just gonna pack up and leave tomorrow?" A new outlook on life was slowly worming its way into his mind. A new plan that didn't necessarily involve college was forming. An alternative. His to choose if he wanted to. "I promised my mom I would finish high school," He shrugged seriously. "I promised Kate I would stay." His smile grew to a full on grin. "We both know she would kill me if I tried to leave."

Keo's expression brightened considerably. "Yeah,"

"You think I should ask Dean and Sam to stick around? Maybe visit once in awhile?"

Keo's smile grew. "Definitely!"

The two friends laughed together and went inside for milk and brownies. Keo's mom wouldn't let go after watching Ben walk in with a smile on his face. She hugged him tight for almost thirty seconds. And as always, with the intake of chocolate, life seemed a little brighter afterwards.

Dean rolled up to Lisa's house and parked in the driveway. Ben had called four hours after they dropped him off at home. For _four hours_ Dean had been a bundle of nerves and concern. His mind kept swirling around the "big secret".

After giving his brother a verbal throttle Sam spilled his suspicions. The runt had it all figured out. Dean was grumbling as he passed the gardenia bushes lining the pathway. Sam figured out why Lisa had been so reluctant to let Ben come with them. He had suspected as much since they returned to Cicero, he said. Dean had been stunned. Not only did his brother believe it; the smartest person on earth as far as Dean was concerned (not that he would ever tell him), but he practically _knew_ when he saw Lisa's reaction.

Dean had been sweating ice since he started believing in his brother's suspicions. All three hours and forty five minutes of it.

He knocked on the door and almost passed out from the pressure. This constant stress level was enough to knock down an ox. Lisa opened with red, puffy eyes. Worry spiked and made Dean's heart flutter. "Lisa?"

She shook her head sadly. "It's ok, Dean." She let him in and led him to the kitchen.

"What happened? Where's Ben?"

"Outside,"

"What happened?" He asked softly.

She shook her head and looked like she was about to cry again. "He wants to be the one to tell you," She bobbed her head to the backdoor. "Go talk with him,"

Dean glanced out to the backyard and back at her. "Lisa, what's going on?"

She looked at him like she had only once before. Her eyes bored into his like she could see through his soul. The only other time she had watched him like that was when he left after the changeling incident. When she asked him if he was disappointed that he wasn't Ben's father. "Go talk to him." She wiped her eyes and poured herself a cup of coffee.

She offered Dean one, but he refused and headed for the back door. Ben was on the porch steps with a pebble in his hand, flipping it around to keep his fingers busy. Dean took a seat next to him and picked up another pebble. He flung it at the gravel. The air was warm and heavy. Wet. Tiny, black flies dotted the air and stuck to everything. He could almost smell the thunder in the distance. "Hey, Ben."

Ben glanced up from his deep silence.

"Your mom said you wanted to talk to me,"

He still didn't answer, but just looked into the grey sky.

"So talk," Dean picked up another pebble and threw it. "You wanna tell me why your mother's inside, crying her eyes out?"

"Guilt," Ben said with a strangely surprised expression.

"Guilt over what?" Dean asked and picked up his third pebble. This one he kept and twirled in his hand like Ben.

"Over lying to me," Ben said and threw his pebble. It clicked when it connected with the gravel. Instead he started picking at a tear in his jeans.

Dean felt his heart throb quickly. His blood thickened with adrenalin. "About what?"

Ben looked squarely at him then. He held Dean's gaze until it felt like there were no secrets anymore. "You look nervous," Ben said instead.

Dean swallowed and looked down with a nod. "Not at all,"

"See, I figure you already know what I'm gonna say because you already know what my mom told me." Dean met his stare again. "I figure Sam told you his suspicions."

Dean didn't nod. He didn't speak. He didn't move.

"It's ok though," Ben scrapped the gravel with the toe of his sneaker. He looked at Dean with a question burning in his eyes.

Dean felt a calm wash over him. Ease as heart rate evened out. "Yeah it is," He swung an arm around his son and looked into the grey sky along with him. In the distance a hesitant rumble sounded.

"My friend, Keo, asked me what I want," Ben said after a second.

Dean looked over at him. "And?"

"I want what you want," Ben said and met his father's eye. "Just, not yet."

Dean nodded slowly. "I figured as much." He released Ben a little abruptly and stood up. "Sammy and I'll be in town for a while. If you wanna talk, just call me." He pulled a pen out of pocket and wrote down a number. "About anything." His deep, green eyes beamed with concern, empathy, pride, love. He handed the number and Ben came to his feet.

Dean looked at him for a second before he pulled him into a hug. Ben reached up and squeezed back. Dean's strong arms felt like a cocoon of warmth and comfort and suddenly Ben wasn't so scared anymore.

Dean released him and clapped a hand on his son's shoulder. "Whenever you're ready, we'll be there." He nodded and Ben returned it seriously.

"Thank you,"

Dean smiled and let go. "No, thank _you_." He turned and headed back into the house.

Ben felt calmer. He didn't feel so torn anymore. Suddenly the heavy rain clouds in the distance didn't seem nearly as looming as before. He wasn't being asked to choose one or the other. He wasn't being asked if he was a hunter or civilian. His dad was ready to wait for him to think. Consider his options. And Ben would do just that. Take his time to think.

Make the right choices when he was ready.

His mom later came out with a cup of tea when the rain started falling. Light and grey. Ben sat under the porch roof and watched lighting flash over the sky. Suddenly the gloom had lifted. Life had been turned upside down, but it seemed more normal than ever before.

His mom was a yoga instructor and his dad was a demon hunter. And Ben didn't have to choose one life over the other. He could do whatever he wanted and he intended to do just that;

Live his life, starting now.


End file.
